Grace Bellchambers (Class of 2014) recently gave some great advice to Year 12 students as they begin their final year at Radford

By Renae Woods (Head of Year 12)

It is such a pleasure to have been at Radford for an amount of time, that you have connections with Collegians who have gone on to achieve amazing things.  Grace is an example of just this.  Grace gratefully and willingly came and spoke to Year 12 students, as they began their final year.  She encouraged students to get involved in their final year especially if, in the past they may not have thought to participate or volunteer for things.  In particular, Grace spoke about what a highlight being involved in the Year 12 Review was and how much she felt it united those students that got involved.  The review for her, really brought her closer to others that she had not traditionally had much to do with and she also felt that it brought the cohort closer together.

Grace encouraged students to cherish their final year and to remember to keep the balance in their lives with the things that they enjoy and that they are passionate about.  She shared that obviously being well organised and focused on your goals and study is important, because achieving what you desire is very helpful for your next phase of life – post Radford. Grace also shared the things that she now missed from Radford, but also how quickly Year 12 goes by – hence for students, to cherish moments as much as they can.  She also emphasised that in years to come, you won’t remember the little details about the social exchanges or gripes that you have had with others, but you do look back fondly on the effort that you made to connect with others and the positive memories that you have as a result.

Grace also emphasised how she did not realise until she got to University, just how well Radford had prepared her for managing her studies.  She felt well prepared to give oral presentations, knowing how to start researching and breaking down tasks and how to express her responses.  She assured students that all of those presentations, reports and projects that she had done at Radford had more than payed dividends post College.

In closing, Grace shared her personal experience in her course of study.  Grace had planned for some time, to want to study journalism and this had been a goal of hers since mid-High School.  Once she started this course at Uni, she realised it was not what she thought it would be, and so she had to rethink her plan.  It was inspirational for the students to see that even the most carefully thought through plans, don’t necessarily work out how you might think!  Grace made the decision to do a complete U turn and instead started studying Economics and Accountancy. She clearly had no regrets at all and embraced this change with gusto. She spoke to the group on a Wednesday and the following Monday was to be her first day in her first “real” job with an accounting firm in Sydney.

I can not thank Grace enough for coming in and sharing her story and her experiences.  Often, students need to see a fresh face and hearing from someone who has recently been in their position is so valuable. Thanks again, Grace!

Several of Grace’s messages resonated with both our Collegian Captains, in particular the importance of flexibly responding to changed circumstance after school  and maintaining a balance between academic achievement, cocurricular activities and enjoying all that the Year 12 experience has to offer.