Our Top Achievers for 2018 were welcomed back to the College on Thursday 7 February with the Top Achievers Assembly held in conjunction with the first full College Mass of the year in the Doyle Centre. Time was also taken to remember the victims of the Black Saturday bushfires, with the assembly coinciding with the 10th anniversary of that tragic day.
Father Dean said the anniversary should remind everyone of the compassion demonstrated by many of us at the time and since then, “to understand what had happened, and to give of what they had, through goods or money, or through thoughts and prayers”.
This year’s College theme ‘compassion’ was present throughout in the speeches from Principal Philip Morison, from Tanya Hutton, the Deputy Principal — Learning and Teaching, as well as the homily from Father Dean and two of our Top Achievers, College Dux Rachel Ricciuti and Catherine McAuley Award winner Danielle Virgona.
Rachel spoke of how a realisation that the most important measure of success is whether you have achieved the goals you have set for yourself and how it helped her. For her, 2018 was all about personal growth. With this in mind, while she received an ATAR score of 96 she has forgone the opportunity to attend university this year to instead follow her passion for music, recently spending several weeks in Tamworth, New South Wales, the home of country music in Australia, being surrounded by music.
Catherine McAuley Award winner Danielle, who was the College Captain in 2018, will next week begin university studies to become a paediatriac nurse, a calling sparked by a pilgrimage to the home of Catherine McAuley when Danielle was in Year 11.
“Catherine McAuley is a woman who displayed compassion, selflessness, leadership and deep commitment to her faith. It is honestly a surreal feeling being able to speak about Catherine and how she has influenced me. During Year 11 I had the privilege of participating in the Young Mercy Leaders pilgrimage in Dublin. Here, the life and teachings of Catharine truly came to life and being able to walk in her footsteps brought me to a new understanding of the work she did. I had the opportunity to learn so much about issues in the world and this motivated me to return to the College and try to have a positive impact on others.”
“Always be your best, but give of your best too”, Mr Morison said to the student body on finishing. It’s a tenet exemplified by our two guest speakers.
“My advice for all students at Mount Lilydale Mercy College is to work hard,” Danielle said. “It may seem simple on the surface, but the power of persistence and courage when studying is extraordinary. Never give up. No matter how many times you fall down, find the strength to keep trying because, I promise, with every failure there is a chance to grow.
“My third and final piece of advice is to go about your schooling with a sense of compassion, generosity and a positive outlook. So whatever you aspire to do, become or achieve, chase that dream and remember that you have amazing support from teachers, students, family and God.”
Copies of Rachel and Danielle's speeches are attached.
