By Charlene Macaulay
Year 12 is a big year for any high school student, but for Louis-Jak Middlebrook, it came with challenges most teens don’t have to deal with.
The 19-year-old Werribee resident had a tougher year than most last year, with his mother dying from breast cancer while he was doing year 12 at Wyndham Central College.
Despite his heartbreak, Louis-Jak performed well in his final exams and was accepted into a diploma of furniture design at RMIT.
“My teachers saw how hard it was for me to get through the year, but I did make it and I didn’t give up,” he said.
“Friends and family and my girlfriend were real sources of motivation, but also just knowing my mum wouldn’t have wanted me to give up. She would have rather me finished year 12 and get it done.”
His tenacity was recognised recently when Louis-Jak was one of five recipients of the Tim Pallas Endeavour Award, which is given to students who have shown outstanding effort and growth in their studies and attitude.
Werribee MP Tim Pallas said Louis-Jak received the award “for being a fine upstanding young man, and for the resilience and compassion he has shown his school community”.
Louis-Jak, who was nominated by his teachers, said he had been “surprised, shocked and honoured” by the award.
He’s taking a gap year this year to work and travel before starting university next year.
