Logan's Last Hurrah
Wantirna College
This week, we interviewed graduating Year 12 student, Logan Papenfuss, who is raising money for the Peter Mac Foundation by pledging to shave his head for cancer research on the last day of Year 12.
If you'd like to support Logan, please follow THIS link to his Peter Mac fundraising page.
Year 12 students will be able to watch Logan's head be shaved, on Fri 25 October at 11:45am in the CollegeTheatre.
Q: Why are you fundraising for Cancer research?
I am raising money for cancer in honour of my grandparents, as my Nana and Granny both passed from complications during cancer treatment. My family had to struggle through many complications. If the money raised can assist anyone in need that’s more than I could wish for.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your Nana and Granny?
It’s difficult to only talk about them a little bit because they were such a big part of my life. I would see both of them frequently with Nana picking me up from school every Friday and Granny taking us into the city for fun experiences. When I was younger, we would spend every Sunday at Nana’s house getting pizza and pasta from Piccolino Express and spending time as a family Occasionally I would go on a road trip with Nana to Rosebud, stopping by BP Truckstops to get a chocolate thickshake from Maccas. Granny was a very strong woman, if she had a place to go, she would get there, but she could always stop by the NGV to observe the latest installation. She made sure to take me on my first plane ride and we travelled to Sydney, to this day I remember the view from our hotel.
Q: How have you been raising money?
I began raising money by approaching friends and asking them for donations but as the weeks rolled by I enlisted help from Mr. Pearson to make posts on Teams and Compass as well as Mr. Pollock to print posters made by Kai Simcocks. After campaigning at school, we widened the area and spread the word across Wantirna. My posters were even plastered around staff rooms at Knox Council.
Q: Your goal is $2000, do you think we can reach it?
As of writing this, we are $62 passed the goal, I have full confidence that we can take it even further with the fantastic support from Wantirna College and the greater community!
Q: You’ve committed to sacrificing your hair by shaving it all off at Celebration Day as part of your fundraising efforts. How are you feeling about this?
The sacrifice of my hair is a small price to pay in my eyes. With the amount of effort we’ve put into the fundraiser and the insane amount of money that we’ve raised, it is well worth the loss of my hair!
Q: Lastly, as a graduating student, do you have any advice or words of wisdom you’d like to share with us?
I’ve been a student at Wantirna for my entire high school education and I’m already filled with sadness to see it go. My advice to any students would be to make the most of the time you have; Wantirna is a great school with ample opportunities and pathways for everyone, take advantage of what you’re given and try to use it to its fullest but don’t feel guilty if you take a break. You need to balance personal, social, and academic time, that’s the best way to make it through.