VCE Interviews with the Class of 2022
Mentone Grammar is extremely proud of our students and staff who achieved exceptional outcomes in 2022. As university offers have begun, and classes will be commencing in a few weeks’ time, we sat down with some of the Class of 2022 students to discuss their VCE experience and plans for the future.
Ulyana Kondratova (DUX)
- What are your plans for the future?
I’m planning to study Biomedicine at Melbourne University, hopefully with a diploma in languages. - How did Mentone Grammar help you achieve your goals?
Mentone Grammar has provided me with many opportunities that have allowed me to explore myself outside of just academia and thus allowing me to become better within academics as well.
- Any teachers that you’d like to thank?
To my teachers, I would like to say a massive thank you for all the support. They were always there for me, especially outside of of hours when I had extra questions. Thank you to Ms Anita Saavedra for helping me out with my Year 11 3/4 subjects, Ms Terry Matthew for English Language, Mr Ben McLellan and Ms Bernadette McGill for Mathematics, Mr Peter Wynne for Chemistry, and Ms Stacey Gwilym for Biology.
Annalisa Calvi (DUX Secunda)
- What are your plans for the future?
I am hoping to study Mathematics and Computer Science at Monash University. - How did Mentone Grammar help you achieve your goals?
This school helped in so many ways. There are really good teachers – I had four amazing teachers in 2022 who just knew that they were talking about and were so passionate about passing on this information. They also provided a lot of resources for studying, especially practice exams which helps a lot during VCE. Additionally, in the younger year levels, I was part of the Dare2Dream Program which meant that I competed in a lot of academic competitions such as the DaVinci Decathlon and Tournament of Minds. These really set me up for VCE, as I expanded my thinking and learned how to work to the best of my ability. Any teachers that you’d like to thank?
I would love to give a shoutout to Ms Terry Matthew; English Language was a subject I really struggled with, but Ms Matthew was so lovely and helped me immensely. Any student who has her as their teacher is lucky!
Ryan (Kerui) Huang
- What are your plans for the future?
I’m planning to go into Design and Engineering at Melbourne University. - How did Mentone Grammar help you achieve your goals?
It was a good cohort that felt like a big, supportive family and the teachers gave me a lot of support too. - Any teachers that you’d like to thank?
There are so many – Ms Melanie Lane for Physics, Mr Aaron Richard for Humanities, Mr Ben McLellan, Ms Nadia Janetzki and Ms Bernadette McGill for Mathematics, and all my other teachers along the way!
Georgia Stewart:
- What are your plans for the future?
I am hoping to do a double degree in Nursing and Midwifery at Monash University. I am really passionate about caring and connecting with young people, so I hope to follow this profession in the future.
- How did Mentone Grammar help you achieve your goals?
There is something really special about the teachers at Mentone Grammar. They are so caring and are genuinely willing to give up their time to make sure we understand a concept. My teachers were always there to help me get through any hardship – VCE is a roller coaster and it can be challenging, but they were such a huge support.
- Any teachers that you’d like to thank?
My History (Revolutions) teacher, Mr Aaron Cook was awesome, his class was so much fun and my absolute favourite this year. Mr Cook was always willing to help us go that extra mile with our studies and ensured we knew the content back to front.
Mitchell (Avery) King
- What are your plans for the future?
I’m planning on studying for an Advanced Diploma in Sound Production at RMIT. Career-wise, I would love to record and produce my own music and work on mixing live shows for bands.
- How did Mentone Grammar help you achieve your goals?
I had a very unusual journey throughout Year 12. Mentone Grammar was so supportive and understanding, providing me with wellbeing support and making accommodations for my situation.
- Any teachers that you’d like to thank?
I would like to give a shoutout to our onsite Producer, Tyson Fish. He is a really nice guy and was always there to help me in the recording studio to make my tracks sound incredible.
Maddison Moore
- What are your plans for the future?
I hope to study a Bachelor of Psychology at Monash University. I have always loved studying psychology and found it super interesting. Additionally, I’m passionate about biology, so I’d love to do a neuroscience stream to better understand the function of the brain.
- How did Mentone Grammar help you achieve your goals?
All of my teachers have been incredibly supportive, and they have pushed me to achieve above and beyond what I ever thought possible.
- Any teachers that you’d like to thank?
Mr Aaron Cook’s History class was awesome – everyone should study Revolutions in Year 12 if he is teaching, it was so much fun!
Jared Ruberu
- What are your plans for the future?
I hope to study a double degree in Engineering and Commerce at Monash University. I’m interested in studying a double because engineering is in the family, and commerce seems like a new challenge that I look forward to trying in 2023.
- How did Mentone Grammar help you achieve your goals?
The teachers really helped me achieve great results in my subjects. They do so many little things that help us achieve something big. Additionally, the extracurricular sport program is great and it helped me connect with so many like-minded people outside of my year level. Lastly, the support systems at Mentone Grammar, especially the careers counselling, was integral in helping me choose a pathway that I feel really excited about.
- Any teachers that you’d like to thank?
My Physics teacher, Ms Melanie Lane, is genuinely such a great teacher with a wealth of experience – she had the best class! Her lessons were so much fun with an even mix of laughter and working hard to succeed. A favourite memory was when she took us on an excursion to Luna Park, where we consolidated and applied our knowledge of motion to analyse and calculate the velocities, accelerations and forces of the rides.
Jack McNamara
- What are your plans for the future?
In 2023, I would love to get the ball rolling on my studies coupled with some travelling. I am hoping to study a double degree in Law and Commerce, with the ultimate aim to use these skills towards a career in business in sports.
- How did Mentone Grammar help you achieve your goals?
Wow, where do I begin? Since Year 7, this school has helped me develop as a person, building quality life traits. I have loved Saturday sport, playing cricket in the summer and football in the winter with all my mates – that has been a real highlight. Throughout VCE, I have been shown how to be more organised which has helped reduce so much stress and allowed me to perform to my best in the classroom.
- Any teachers that you’d like to thank?
I would like to say a massive thank you to my Business Management teacher, Mr Nizam Abdallah – he’s been immense for me this year. Meeting with Mr Abdallah every Monday has been a massive support. Additionally, Ms Dana Killmister in the Learning Enhancement Centre has been a fantastic help over the past two and a half years.
Priya Gill
- What are your plans for the future?
I will be studying a one-year diploma at Showfit studying Musical Theatre. I love performing and I know that it’s what I want to do in the future, so I’m really excited to study this full time.
- How did Mentone Grammar help you achieve your goals?
This school showed me how to focus on balancing my love for performing arts with academics. There are so many opportunities that I loved exploring, such as the school musical and the jazz program, which helped me broaden my skills and expand my horizons. I was also lucky enough to be Performing Arts Captain in 2022, which was a lot of work, but so rewarding. I don’t think I imagined how rewarding this position would be – I got to connect with so many students from across the year levels and be a sort of role model for them. When I was younger, I really looked up to the Performing Arts Captains, so to be in this position was such an amazing experience and one that I did not take for granted.
- Any teachers that you’d like to thank
All of them! My number one tip is to choose subjects you love, so all my teachers and their lessons were incredible, which I feel helped me achieve my academic goals. Don’t worry about choose subjects for their scaling – if you are passionate about what you do, good grades will follow.
