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Chemistry of VCE success THOMAS WILLIAMS Thomas Williams (OM 2021) achieved great success in the VCE, gaining an ATAR of 99.65 and becoming Dux of the School for 2021. For his VCE, Thomas took on a challenging mix of subjects including Chemistry, English, Japanese, Mathematical Methods (NHT) and Specialist Mathematics. While he valued each of his subjects for different reasons, he enjoyed Chemistry the most, appreciating the practical aspects of the subject and applying his findings to everyday life.
how nerve-wracking I found performing for a crowd. I’ve had such a variety of great experiences which have made my school journey extremely enjoyable. In particular, Exodus and Bush Skills stand out to me — the opportunity to get outside and form connections with new people was great.” It was this variety of experiences and activities that Thomas believes helped shape the person he is today. “I think St Michael’s has helped me become a more outgoing person who is more willing to take things on. I’ve learnt to juggle many activities in my schedule, and to feel comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people, a skill that I am sure will be useful throughout my life. I think most importantly, my education at St Michael’s has taught me the importance of balance, encouraging both academic and Extra-Curricular endeavours. I feel that I am a now well-rounded individual, largely thanks to my time at the school.” – Thomas Williams (OM 2021)
“Being educated on the chemistry of food has given me a far greater understanding of what I’m eating. Like most people I’ve seen terms like antioxidants, fats, protein and carbohydrates plastered over food packaging without really understanding what they were. Chemistry demystified all of this. Thomas has begun a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne. While he is still deciding what career to pursue beyond his studies, he is very interested in finding new ways to fight the current climate crisis. “Researching or engineering new technologies to provide clean energy is an idea that is certainly appealing to me. At some point I’d also like to study abroad, maybe in Japan or in Europe. If I have the opportunity, I think it would be fantastic to live overseas for an extended period.” While his academic pursuits led to securing his first preference at university, Thomas also appreciated the many different subject areas and Extra-Curricular activities in which he was involved. “I think what I have most enjoyed about my time at St Michael’s is that I had lots of opportunities to try new things in a wide variety of areas. I’ve learnt to cook in food technology, learnt some basic web development skills in IT, how to work with a 3D printer, Adobe Illustrator and a variety of workshop tools in Design Technology and in Visual Communication. I’ve been able to participate in school cricket, soccer, futsal, cross-country and athletics, and have held several leadership positions in the School. I even participated in House Drama, Debating and several Music Soirees despite 4
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The Crest Issue 7 2022
For future VCE students, Thomas recommends maintaining a routine and preparing for exams early. Thomas found it beneficial to practice exams when possible and revise course material during the year, rather than just focusing on SACs. “I found that keeping to a strong routine helped me manage my time. I was always a bit of a night owl, but last year I forced myself to do my work a lot earlier and to get a good sleep, which was beneficial for me. I would also recommend starting preparation for the exams as early as you can – it’s easy to think they’re far off but if you’re not doing some kind of revision, by the end of the year you’ll have forgotten a lot of things. It doesn’t take much but doing a little practice throughout the year will save a lot of work in the long run.”
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Thomas Williams Thomas on the Cambodia Immersion Project
