FOR one Ballarat student it wasn’t the score that mattered, it was the fact she had made it through and can reach her dream of being a police officer.
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Rhiannon Evenden took an extra year to complete her VCE, however, she did so without the standard family support structure most students receive.
“It was much easier than doing it in the two years like you are meant to,” Rhiannon said.
“I moved out of home the start of last year and that just made everything a million times harder.
“I am happy they let me do it, they didn’t want to because I wasn’t trying at the start.”
Rhiannon is a student at Ballarat Secondary College’s Barkly Street Campus.
A work experience program with the Police Force is what led her to make the decision and forced her to complete year 12.
“Only a few people get picked in Victoria and I got picked so I thought well if I got picked out of 1000 people , well it must be what I am supposed to do,” Rhiannon said.
“Last year I didn’t think I was going to come back at all and then I thought I better give it a go and see what happens.
“I was just so proud of myself because I did it.”
Principal of the campus Harold Cheung said the school was very proud of its independent students.
“The biggest thing is that most students have that support network and family network to support them through a very stressful period,” he said.
“For Rhiannon what exemplifies her is that she didn’t have these networks apart from her friends of course.
“She didn’t have the, I guess, adult role modelling but yet overcomes these difficulties and challenges.
“She balances up work, balances up having an education and is still able to achieve successfully and gets where she wants to go.”
Rhiannon is still working towards her goal of becoming a police officer. The next step for her is to successfully gain her driver’s licence.
matthew.dixon@fairfaxmedia.com.au
