However, Ruby’s dedication and commitment as a student at Federation TAFE, has shown that forging the career of your dreams is always possible.

“I found out there are a lot of pathways to higher education and TAFE is really undersold as an option. There needs to be more of an awareness in high schools about alternative ways to get into further study.”

Ruby is a Yorta Yorta woman who studied a Certificate III in Business traineeship at Federation and was motivated to progress her career quickly.

She worked hard to finish the two-year traineeship a year early and is now well on the path to further post-secondary education with plans to become a paramedic.

Ruby’s efforts were celebrated at the 2024 Federation TAFE Awards for Excellence with the Federation TAFE Growth Award.

This award recognises students from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander First Nation Peoples who have demonstrated commitment to their personal and academic growth.

After completing her traineeship, Ruby has also transitioned from student to staff member, starting a job in Federation University’s Student Equity and Inclusion Department—and she’s become an inspiration for others. Congratulations Ruby!

“I just want to make a difference. I’m in a unique position 
 I have worked across both the TAFE and higher education sectors of the university and, being Indigenous, I have a lot of experience that could help current students. I want to use what I’ve learned and pay it forward and make change for the better,” she said.

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David Adams and Derek Jones, who attended BHS from 1971-1976, play the bassoon and flute respectively and will be performing—along with Peter De Jager—at Langley Estate from 3-4pm on Saturday 9th March.

David, who now lives in Bristol UK, said it would be wonderful if some of their old classmates were able to attend the concert.

“Last year I met up with some former BHS classmates when I visited ÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ”18, and it struck me that there may be some interest in our event.”

Tickets are $40, which includes a glass of wine at the ‘Meet The Artists’ session after the 1-hour performance. Ticket info can be found .

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Amelia, who graduated in 2022, now works in Canberra as a Ministerial & Parliamentary Support Officer in the Office of the Chief Executive Officer for the National Indigenous Australians Agency.

Given her already long list of achievements, including being named ÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ”18 Young Citizen of the Year in 2022, she has much to offer students when it comes to active citizenship, empathy and connections to culture.

Amelia encouraged students to take up every opportunity and join in school events during their time at BSSC.

She also spoke of her love of advocating for others and giving back to her communities.

“Making connections and networking is important, even if it doesn’t come naturally,” she said. “Young people’s voices are often not heard, so changing this by having a voice is really important.”

Being a proud Torres Strait Islander woman and part of the Kaurareg Aboriginal people who live on Waiben (otherwise known as Thursday Island), advocating for her culture is something that drives Amelia and inspired her move to Canberra.

Role models have also been hugely important to Amelia and she gave a big shout out to her mum, as well as BSSC teachers Prue Winter and Sue Pickles.

“Moving away from friends and family has been challenging,” Amelia said, “but walking through Parliament House makes it all worthwhile.”

BSSC teacher, Mardi Holland, said Amelia was a great role model to her students and really held their attention.

“Amelia was extremely articulate when sharing her thoughts and answering questions,” Mardi said.  “Her passion shone through. She is certainly doing BSSC proud.”

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The day kicked off in the La Trobe Art Institute with presentations by BSSC 2022 alumna, Sunday Tully and Keira Long, and Eleanor Jones, a Broadford Secondary College 2022 graduate.

The three artists guided students through the journey they took constructing their VCE folios and developing their final pieces.

They shared how they made the most of their opportunities and where they discovered inspiration.

They also outlined the pitfalls—and near disasters—they had to negotiate and were candid about errors and backtracks.

Keira and Eleanor brought in artwork—something not possible for the installation Sunday has created.

In contrast, Sunday had meticulously documented the process of her major work giving a clear idea of the piece—which was shortlisted for TopArts 2023.

Keira’s work was also shortlisted for this prestigious exhibition of Year 12 artwork.

The remainder of the day involved a presentation at ÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ”18 Art Gallery by Curator Claire Needham and the opportunity to visit a number of current exhibitions.

BSSC wishes all our VCE Art students a creative and productive start to the year.

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Still in excellent condition, the windcheater features the names of graduates from 1988 and was brought in by Donna to show colleagues—including Simone—who was in the same cohort.

The memories came flooding back to the pair as they scanned through the familiar names and shared stories from their time at what was then ÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ”18 High School.

“I remember the ‘Common Room’, where students would meet up and study,” Simone reflects. “This was where the current Business classrooms are now. It was a bit of a hub.

“I’ve got memories of exams in James King Hall. When I go in there now, I feel like I’m right back there!”

For Donna, there is a reason she has held onto the jumper for all these years; it sparks nostalgia for the great times she had at BSSC during Years 11 and 12.

“Fun with friends, hanging out, carefree laughs—that’s what I think of when I look at it,” she says.

Their journey came full circle, with Donna taking on the role of BSSC Student Wellbeing Advisor in 2010 and Simone joining the Careers and Pathways team in 2020.

“I’ve found it really interesting and positive to have experienced being both a student and a staff member here.” Donna explains.

“I’m really proud to be a part of such a connected, supportive and passionate community where students and staff are all respected. I witness how staff are so dedicated to ensure students have every opportunity to succeed and make their time at BSSC enjoyable and memorable.”

For Simone, the feeling of being back at the college and in a position to help young people makes her incredibly proud.

“After Year 12 I went to work at a bank ‘for one year’, but ended up staying for 15!” she says. “Then I started to get into Education, Training and Employment. Walking into BSSC, I was so overwhelmed by everybody’s commitment to helping students. It’s amazing being part of their journeys – it’s a dream job.”

As members of the Wellbeing and Careers teams respectively, Donna and Simone help students to navigate their way through life at school and, of course, beyond Year 12. Their advice to students is similar – it’s okay if you don’t have everything figured out just yet.

“Along the way, I’ve learnt the value of not feeling like you need to have it all figured out straight away
 that a variety of experience and change is what nourishes and adds to our lives.” Donna says.

Simone echoes the sentiment.

“There are so many pathways out there,” she says. “Don’t give up on a dream. It’s never too late.”

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Renee was last at BSSC in 2020 and is presently studying a Bachelor of Design and 3D Animation at Deakin University’s Burwood campus.

Her dream career is working for an animation studio in the future.

“But who knows?” she laughs, “It’s good to have a plan but right now I’m just really enjoying my course.”

Renee studied Vis Com, Digital Media and Media in Year 12. Today was also a chance to catch up with her BSSC teachers, Rachel Quillinan and Jamie Le Rossignol.

Rachel recalls that Renee was very good at managing her time and project, and coped impressively with the constraints of the pandemic.

The students who attended today’s workshop appreciated Renee’s visit.

“It was great,” says Taleah. “I liked her point about mapping your progress on a project and being able to be clear about where you are on that map.”

Renee said it was great to be back at BSSC and hopes her workshop will help make the future more real for media students wishing to pursue animation studies.

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Top Arts is an exhibition of photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, mixed media, ceramics, textiles, film and printmaking produced by VCE Art and VCE Studio Arts students, held at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia.

Only 67 VCE students from across Victorian schools were shortlisted for 2022 Top Arts, so Zara’s achievement is a significant one indeed.

Her work ‘Domesticity’ (ballpoint pen on paper) will be exhibited at the Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia, Federation Square, until the 24th July.

Below is Zara’s artist statement from the exhibition catalogue


Ideas behind the work 


Present: Domesticity considers how the everyday spaces we occupy tell the stories of our daily lives. Intertwining my personal connection to the natural environment and to the domestic spaces my family and I inhabit, I portrayed both the physical and intangible structures of my family home, representing the stories I attach to it. The role domestic spaces play in our lives is more noticeable than ever after the past few months of lockdowns. These spaces communicate both personal stories and societal changes, creating a revealing a snapshot of this current moment in history.

Starting points and influences 


• Interest in architecture as a form of storytelling and communication and modern domestic spaces seen through a personal lens.
• The domestic and still life paintings of artists Patricia Lynch and Margaret Olley, which capture the impact of human presence on personal domestic spaces.
• Artist Yann Erasmus’ biro drawings of everyday, meaningful objects.
• A fusion of Potential Directions ‘ÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ”18land’ and ‘Vegie Garden,’ which provided the basis for my final work.

Sources of inspiration 


• The dynamism of the Australian environment, especially the ambience of grassland and bush landscapes.
• An eco-dyeing technique using native plants on organic papers or fabric, as taught to me by grandmother and as used by artist Katie West.
• Traditional storytelling such as fairy tales, epic poetry, spoken word tales and other fantastical or supernatural stories.

Materials and processes 


Starting with plants sourced from both my grandparents’ homes, I used an eco-dye steaming technique on 300gsm watercolour paper to produce the organic patterning and colour in the background of my final work. Using reference photos of ten rooms of my family home, I used a simple black biro and ruler to draw each room’s structure, before adding in further detail through gradual shading and blending of the biro lines with the mid-tones created in the eco-dye background.

Interesting/challenging aspects of creating the work 


I really loved the beautiful unpredictability of the eco-dyeing, and the joy of opening up the steamed parcel to see how my design had turned out. It was never what I expected, but often so much more mesmerising. I had to be careful when drawing with the biro over it the dyed paper, as the water stress on the paper made it more susceptible to tearing or shedding. Another challenge was trying to balance the amount of biro on the paper to preserve the background design, whilst still creating a sense of each room’s dimension and structure.

Advice to future students 


Choose a focus that can sustain your interest and your art process for the entire year. Then, make sure to take the time to really explore your ideas in your folio and find what mediums work for you. This helps to consolidate your ideas and resolve them successfully in your final artworks. Most importantly though, have fun and trust the process!

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The annual event is a time for all students and staff, along with members of the RSL, Alumni, and the wider community to come together and remember the contributions made by all those who served in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.

Hosted by the Student Leadership executive (Ciaran Noble, Ilise Laidlaw Grealy, Sam Graham, Muhammad Khan, Brooke Mazey and Caleb Nancarrow), the event featured performances by student musicians, including the Australian and New Zealand National Anthems, and renditions of Pink Floyd’s ‘Us and Them’ and the Dixie Chicks’ ‘Travelin’ Soldiers’.

There were also presentations by RSL President, Peter Swandale, and special guest speaker, Glenn Ludeman, who spoke passionately about the many ways Australian Defence Force personnel make a difference in people’s lives.

“They work on the sea, in the air, on the ground,” he said. “As they stand guard, patrol, make secure areas, others are building schools and hospitals and are bringing the hope of a better life to those less fortunate. I believe this would still make the Gallipoli soldier proud.”

Today’s ceremony was also attended by 98-year-old alumnus and World War II veteran, Pierce Grenfell. Mr Grenfell enrolled at the college in 1935.

A big thank you to our student hosts, Ciaran Noble, Ilise Laidlaw Grealy, Sam Graham, Muhammad Khan, Brooke Mazey and Caleb Nancarrow, to Amelia Leach and Zarli Stewart for the Acknowledgement of Country, and to the many musicians who helped make the ceremony so meaningful: Jade Cuskelly, Sonnie Hannaford, Elisha Field, Alana Jurisic, Kalo Davis, Yanfeng Ross, Hanley Rorke, Jonah Zoch, Tas Careedy, Adeline Sanders, Ethan Teasdale, Lily McKenny, Roman Martin and Ellie Close.

The Last Post was performed by BSSC Alumnus, Ethan Chuter.

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