Monash Champions Program

Monash Access Champions Program

The High Achievers and leaders of Year 9 and 10 were selected to take part in the Monash Access Champions Program. The program went for 6 months. The Year 9 students that participated in the program were Caitlin Zealley, Sarah Santos, Taylah Rasmussen, Jaymi Muzzicato, Emily Bridgeman, Tyler Bushell, Fahtima Afaese, Riley Simmons and Josh Lloyd. We had to create a project focusing on tertiary education. The original idea that we had in mind was to make a careers hub but due to lack of time, organisation and communication we weren’t able to pull through. But as a result we ended up making a PowerPoint presentation and a Kahoot on tertiary education. This was later presented to the Year 7s and 8s. After the presentation we were given great feedback on how well we went and how it was informative for the students.

The project was based on tertiary education. We covered many different aspects of further education, such as the benefits, opportunities, finances, and outcomes. Doing this project was beneficial for the junior school students, and it helped us develop confidence in presenting, and knowledge on the subject of tertiary education.

The Year 10s were working on a community project which involved going out to primary schools and having sessions with primary students who were anxious about starting high school. They had a really big impact and were featured in one of the primary schools’ newsletter. The Year 10s who took part were Stephen Hart, Tiffany Isgro, Matthew Olierook, Aashvi Parekh, Trent Ruston, and Ian Stewart.

Though we were working together on the project, we had additional help from three Monash mentors, and it gave us a clearer picture on what we needed to do to complete the project. At the Monash presentation day, the project was presented to the other schools that had participated in the program.

Overall, the program was a very beneficial experience for the Year 9s and 10s. We gained confidence, knowledge and independence throughout the program, and we are very thankful to Monash for giving us this great opportunity.

- Taylah Rasmussen and Sarah Santos