By Brendan Rees
Two Cranbourne students have been recognised alongside the state’s best performing VCE students in the Premier’s VCE Awards.
Year 12 student Lilli Blommestein of Casey Grammar and former Cranbourne Secondary College student Maseera Noor were both recognised after receiving perfect scores in Outdoor and Environmental Studies English as an Additional Language (EAL) respectively.
“I worked very hard all year … I wasn’t expecting it,” Lilli, 17, said.
“I wanted something high but my teacher at the end of unit two told me he thought I could do it so it had been a goal since then.
“Ever since I was little my dad had taken me out exploring, motorbike riding, boating, and camping and I have a passion for nature.”
Lilli, who is completing Year 12 this year, said she hoped to pursue a career in landscape architecture after completing her final VCE units of visual communication design last year.
She said the switch to remote learning had been hard but was “getting through it”, adding her teachers were supportive and accessible.
Maseera, who migrated to Australia with her family when she was 11, said receiving the award was a feeling she “could never put into words”.
“I had consistently worked hard for and seeing the results really made me speechless,” she said.
“I aimed to write 50 essays throughout the year just because I thought if I wrote 50 essays, I could receive that perfect score.
“I always enjoyed writing and the support from my teachers and parents made it possible for me to go above and beyond.
Maseera is currently studying a Bachelor of Radiography and Medical Imaging at Monash University.
She said adapting to remote learning while in lockdown had been challenging as the course was quite comprehensive.
“It can be challenging to stay motivated during this time however having a schedule and asking myself ‘why am I doing this’ gets me back on track.”
Assistant principal of Cranbourne Secondary College, George Massouris, said he was “very proud” of Maseera who he described as a “model student”.
“For Cranbourne Secondary this is validation of the great school environment for learning that is provided here,” he said.
Cranbourne MP Pauline Richards said: “I congratulate Lilli and Maseera on this fantastic achievement. Their success is a credit to not only their hard work and abilities, but also to the support of family, friends and our school community.”
The annual Premier’s VCE Awards ceremony has been postponed for 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
