Life beyond the ATAR

A panel of Collegians offered insights, advice and funny stories on what life looks like Beyond the ATAR at a Q&A event for Years 11 & 12 in the Senior School Lecture Theatre last Friday night.

Angela Gowland, Hiba Abbas, Campbell Smith, Lucas Pender and Mark Whitby talked candidly about their experiences in the final years at Radford and what they did in the first few years after school.

It was clear from the discussion that charting a defined course does not always go as planned.

The message about there being many different pathways to a particular goal resonated with the audience, with the journeys of Angela Gowland (dancer to doctor) and Campbell Smith (banker to builder) being prime examples.

The panel was asked questions about choosing to study at one of Canberra’s universities compared to those in other cities, how they came up with a plan B when they didn’t get the ATAR they wanted, why doing an internship was a good idea and how to network with integrity.

Lucas Pender and Hiba Abbas both talked about not putting too much pressure on oneself, too early, in deciding exactly what to study or what to do in life.

After the Q&A, a social gathering allowed the panellists to mingle with current students and further the discussion.