TYRRELL College graduate and dux Kate Alday has her sights set on a medical career.
After excelling at her studies and receiving an ATAR of 97.05, the teenager’s goal of becoming a doctor is well within her reach.
With a love of science, Kate said she was “shocked, excited and surprised” by her results which followed the transition back to onsite learning this year following a tumultuous two years due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
It was an early morning start on December 12 following the release of results at 7am.
“I was at home with mum and dad in the kitchen anxiously awaiting my results,” Kate said.
After achieving a perfect score of 50 for Health and Human Development, Kate said she was grateful for the support of her family, teachers and friends.
“Our teachers were so proud of all of us,” Kate said.
“They came through the journey with us.”
One of 10 Tyrrell College graduates to complete her studies this year, Kate said the close-knit group would remain lifelong friends as they navigated life after school and pursued their various career paths.
On Wednesday, Kate was offered a biomedical science degree at Monash University and while she weighs up her options, she said she was drawn to a medical career because growing up in rural Victoria she saw firsthand the struggles with accessing services within small towns.
“Just living rurally, I’ve seen many people move to metro areas so that they can access medical services,” Kate said.
“I’d love to study in the city and then return to a rural setting that is in need of health professionals.”
Attributing her success to “working smarter and not harder”, Kate was able to lighten her Year 12 workload after completing two VCE subjects in Year 11.
“Year 11 was a grind but in Year 12 I only had four subjects to focus on, so I got to socialise a little bit more.
“I had fun in Year 12, I played sport and loved school, my teachers and friends.
“We had such small classes that everyone is like family.”
