On Friday 19 November, our Year 12 Students celebrated their Graduation from Mount Lilydale Mercy College, marking not only the end of their time at MLMC but also the end of their 13-year school journey. With COVID-19 restrictions changing less than 24 hours prior to the event, unfortunately for our College community it was unable to be held as a face-to-face ceremony with a large audience. As it was in 2020, the Graduation ceremony was livestreamed from Centennial Hall with Barak Campus Director Mr Kamahl Russell along with production company Gener8 facilitating a production worthy of such a significant event.
As well as acknowledging every student in Year 12 and their extraordinary finish to the year, the recipients of College awards were present at the event with their families, along with the nominees for the Catherine McAuley Award for Student of the Year and their families.
The Emma Collins Award for Community Spirit was presented to Sam Green and Abbey Wheeler.
The Glenys Heath Memorial Award for strength of character and leadership was awarded to Melinda Virgona and Emily Wicks.
The Year 12 Barak All Rounder Awards were presented to Andre Parlas and Sarah Nichols.
The Rotary Club Award for Service went to Charlotte Vranken.
The nominees for the Catherine McAuley Award are: Christian de Iulio, William Geeves, Sam Green, Amelia Jerin, Andre Parlas, Daniel Ryan, Melinda Virgona, Charlotte Vranken and Emily Wicks. This award will be presented at our Night of Excellence on Tuesday 14 December.
It was great to hear from our College Captains, Melinda Virgona and Sam Green, who spoke about their school journey and highlights from Year 7 in 2016 through to Graduation as the Class of 2021. A nice touch was a pre-recorded speech from each of the Year 12 students as they were being presented.
I trust that the evening was enjoyed by all who joined the livestream and I extend my congratulations to the students. I would also like to congratulate the students who received or were nominated for Year 12 awards which are to be presented at a later date.
Students had dressed in their gowns and had their official Graduation photos taken at the College in October.
We warmly wish all of our Year 12 students the very best as they move on to the next chapter of their lives.
