2020 College Dux

HIGH ACHIEVERS’ ASSEMBLY SPEECH

2020 College Dux, Greta Linehan with College Principal, Mary Farah.

My name is Greta Linehan, and it is my utmost honour and privilege to be standing here today as the St Aloysius college dux of 2020; representing a class that I am quite sure no one is going to forget. I want to start off by congratulating every member of the class of 2020. Your incredible success and ability to prosper is clear through the outstanding academic achievements of the year, as well as through observing your journeys from stressed out students flourishing into accomplished women. I would say that 2020 was a tough one for us, but overcoming the hardships of a trying year has ultimately shaped us into the strong individuals we are today, and a little character development never hurts.

During the past couple of months I have been free of any homework or exam study, I have been able to reflect on my experiences of 2020. Whilst planning and writing this speech, I was determined to share with you some advice that you could potentially use within your own life, no matter who you are or what you pursue. Although I still have lots to learn, I would like to talk about the three things I believe brought about my success throughout my high school life, leading me to where I stand in front of you today. I believe that these three things are Courage, Hard work and Passion. Although 2020 was admittedly not the ideal year of fulfilling new year’s resolutions, from day one I was determined to make sure that, throughout the year, I would have no regrets. I did not want to let go of any incredible opportunities that would have enriched me, miss out on making a lifelong friend or never end up learning something new. Without having a positive, ‘just-do-it’ attitude, I would never have been able to play a lead in our musical, study a language, or participate in a plethora of exciting cocurricular activities. Now, because of the saying “once a St Al’s girl, always a St Al’s girl”, I couldn’t not talk about at least one of the Mercy values. Thus, the value of Courage perfectly encapsulates the key to fulfilling goals and overcoming challenges without any room for regret or thoughts of what could have been. And so, in the wise words of Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus, I ask you to “take chances, make mistakes, get messy” – because you never know what great memories may arise from a bit of risk-taking. I can say that, without a doubt, the absolute most important thing to channel in life is passion. The dictionary defines passion as ‘a strong and barely controllable emotion’ but I believe it is that and so much more. For me, passion helped me do the things I loved every day, manifested self-motivation during hardship, and remained at the core of my personal, social, and political beliefs that I wanted to live through my words and actions. The most notable instance of this was my year-long project of creating my Studio Arts artwork – drawing 100 portraits of women in my

2020 College Dux

HIGH ACHIEVERS’ ASSEMBLY SPEECH

life on sticky notes to visually portray the statistic that 1 in 5 Australian women are victims of sexual assault. My passionate investment in this social issue, as well as my ambition to study law in the fight for women’s justice attributed to my greatest achievement of the year – being selected to exhibit my work in the National Gallery of Victoria within the Top Arts Exhibition for 2021. Without passion, my drive and determination to do things I love throughout both my art, as well as in my studies, I would not be the person I am today. I think that investing in hobbies, picking subjects you enjoy, fighting for change, and living your passions will not only bring success in your academic pursuit, but in all aspects of your life. Finally, you really can’t get anything done without hard work – especially in year 12. Hard work and dedication will ultimately get you to the places you want to be, even if we have all been tempted to not read our texts for English over the summer holidays. I vividly remember sitting in this very hall on a coloured plastic chair looking up in awe at the high achievers – amazed by all the accomplishments and impressed by the presentations, but inspired more than anything. It sounds cliché but since I was in year 7, sitting at each of these annual assemblies made me think,

I really want to do that too.

I wanted to stand proud knowing that my success would be acknowledged and knowing where I would be headed in the next step of the exciting future. But, what the speeches, the certificates and beaming smiles don’t tell you, however, are the tireless nights studying, tears of stress, painful friendship drama and bumps in the road that make your goals seem near impossible to achieve. I learnt the hard way that although confidence helps a lot, it is hard work and perseverance that truly sow the seeds of success. Behind every A+ will always be hard work in the form of several practice SACs, study checklists and mind maps. Despite achieving an ATAR of 98.20, at the end of the day I am still the same super nerdy, hard-working, ambitious girl I was in year 7, excited for what the future will hold for her – just a little bit taller.

Looking back at this whirlwind of a year has instilled a deep sense of gratitude for all the opportunities and support that has been offered to me not only throughout 2020, but throughout my entire high school life. Firstly, I want to thank all the friends I have made at St Aloysius – whether it be laughing, crying, or studying together, I will cherish all the memories we have made. I want to give my most sincere thanks and appreciation to all of my dedicated teachers that work very hard and have made my experience at St Al’s from years 7 to 12. Finally, I want to thank the most important people in my life – my mum and dad. For listening to my stress ranting, studying my flash cards with me the night before a SAC, being my personal taxi drivers for school events, and remaining my number one supporters throughout both my studies and my life. The sacrifices you have made for me do not go unnoticed and I love you both very much. As a final note, good luck to everyone for 2021, particularly the year 12s – you have got this! Thank you.

Gretta Linehan

2020 College Dux

Greta’s Artwork as displayed at the NGV’s 2021 Top Arts Exhibition