Werribee Secondary College (WSC) student Ihsan Imran says that his ambition to become a surgeon motivated him to study throughout the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns of this year.
Ihsan said he was surprised and excited last week to discover he achieved an ATAR score of 99.35 (out of 99.95) for his year 12 VCE results.
The 18-year-old said he hopes to study medicine at a Queensland university in 2022.
“During lockdown, I did feel motivated and very lethargic and sometimes it was hard to get out of bed, but I reminded myself of my goal and my passion to become a surgeon,” he said.
Ihsan’s overall study scores for each subject, out of a potential score of 50, included 48.1 for maths methods, 47.73 for specialist maths, 46 for English and 45.9 for biology.
Ishan, who was a WSC vice-captain this year, also founded Medsoc – a society which provides information and support to students interested in studying medicine.
At Good News Lutheran College in Tarneit, students Ziyang Li and Aayushi Khatri achieved ATARs of 98.85 and 98.05, respectively – the highest in the school’s history.
Ziyang , 19, said his advice for other students was choose the subjects they are interested in or have the most passion for.
“Passion is extremely important to me and motivated me throughout the whole year,” he said.
Aayushi , 18, said that after finding out her results, she thought: ‘Oh no I have to be asleep, there’s no way is this true,’ before running into her father’s bedroom to tell him.
She said it was important to for other students to “work hard and just do the best you can”.
“Even if you don’t achieve the score you need, you have other options and pathways, just keep going,” she said.
Alesha Capone
