High Achievers Assembly

As we welcome students and parents back to MCC for 2022, we wish to share with you our outstanding HSC Results.

In the 2021 HSC, MCC achieved 24 Band 6 or E4 results and 77 Band 5 or E3 results! Imreet Singh our Dux, finished with 5 Band 6 results and an incredible ATAR of 98.20.

Additionally, just like we were in 2020, in 2021 MCC was ranked the top School in the Wagga Wagga Catholic Diocese and also the Riverina region. This ranking is based on the number of Band 6 results per exams sat by students at our College.

These fantastic results are testament to the plans the College put in place prior to, during and post lockdown, the dedication to improve learning at the College and the hard work, commitment of collaboration of students, staff and parents.

Imreet Singh - MCC 2021 Dux

Good morning everyone: students, teachers and other members of the community gathered here today.

Before I begin, I would like to preface by saying that I have just come back from a night-shift, and have been awake for about 26 hours, so please excuse me if I stumble over any words.

I feel extremely privileged to be able to talk on behalf of the 2021 cohort and our great achievements in light of what’s been a very disturbed year.

I thought for a long time how I would approach this speech, having listened to so many great duxes talk throughout my years at Marian, but was still so undecided as to how exactly I would go about it. However, there are a few things I attempted to keep in mind when writing this out; one of them being the fact that most students tend to zone out during this part of the assembly. Another being, no one really wants to again hear again and again how resilient the whole Covid-19 ordeal made the 2021 cohort; instead, I wanted to focus on what we learned as young adults, and how these lessons have equipped us to deal with whatever life throws our way. So with that in mind, I will do my best to keep this short and sweet for the benefit of everyone here, or at least as much as I can.

To begin, I wish to shed some light upon the notions of success. I do advise everyone that in no way, shape or form am I attempting to inspire; rather share with you all the lessons I learnt upon success throughout my years at the college, with the basic skills being honed, refined and developed in years 7-8, finding myself and what passions I truly resonate with in years 9-10, and learning in senior years how to lead, but also be lead. I feel almost fraudulent standing up here as the epitome of success, when, in actual fact, success is naturally subjective. There is no singular meaning of what it is to be successful, and I think Marian does an exceptional job of acknowledging this premise and its many facets. 

Essentially the point I am attempting to impart is that your schooling journey is inherently yours; what you want out of your time at Marian Catholic College can only be decided by yourself. I am not going to stand up here and say that everyone can achieve a high ATAR if they set their mind to it as that is unfortunately false; yet this does not limit how successful you can be, nor is it necessarily a bad thing! As clichè as it may sound, not everyone’s strengths lie within the realm of academia. While I stand before you as Dux of the school, there are in fact multiple stories of success which individuals in the 2021 cohort have achieved. Whether that be apprenticeships, scholarships or simply achieving early entry. 

My advice would be to set a goal or general direction of where you wish to be when you finish school which should be rounded upon the basis of what you personally believe is success; what you believe is attainable, and what you think is worthwhile striving for. The main point you should gather from my little spiel is that you do not have to fit the mould of what is typically defined as success. Find your own way and do what you enjoy; success will follow.  

Here at Marian, we are all incredibly fortunate to be gifted with every opportunity to achieve. From the extracurricular activities to the incredible support provided by our teachers, to the rich environment of faith, inclusive of all beliefs and religions; I can confidently say that students at this school have so many resources and tools at their disposal that it is actually fairly hard to not achieve if you have a good go. Before I continue, I do wish to apologise for the stereotypical dux speech which is about to unfold, however, most of which I am about to say is common knowledge in regards to being successful; it is not just some elusive entity that only a select number of students can achieve. I remember when I started year 11 I was so nervous, nervous because many past students exaggerated the workload and the amount of time required for studying. 

However, I came to realise that if you take it step-by-step, day-by-day, you become accustomed to it all. You don’t need to go home and study for 8 hours straight. You don’t need to live, breathe and sleep study. It will of course require hard work, resilience and all that generic kind of stuff. During year 12, I was incredibly fortunate to hold the role of school captain, a rewarding but demanding responsibility; I also regularly volunteered at the Sikh Temple, partook in the Australian Air Force Cadets, worked a part-time job and still maintained a social life with my friends; I tell you all this to demonstrate the power of time-management and organisation in achieving highly. However, it also requires you to take charge of your own learning, remaining balanced. As I mentioned earlier, this journey is solely yours and no one can set the destination other than yourself. 

What became increasingly apparent as I moved into the later years at the college is that the teachers are simply not going to spoon-feed you, but this extends to all spheres of life. In fact, in a rather paradoxical sense, it was the teachers that provided fewer answers and more questions, where I found myself achieving the highest. This essentially prompted me to gain control over my own learning which I encourage all the senior students to do. Within the senior years, common excuses such as “we did not learn that” are no longer forgivable, as chances are you will be sitting the HSC exam regardless of what you learnt and what you have not. 

However I must admit that the ATAR is simply a number, and no one person is to be defined by a numerical system. The most valuable asset you can gain from your time at Marian Catholic College is the friendships you develop as well as the lifelong skills, values and ethics you gather along the way. The best piece of advice I can present for you all today is to not get bogged down in the future; do not exit the present moment to address future concerns which may not occur. As I mentioned, there are many doors to success, and they are not all opened by this number you receive at the end of year 12. 

In continuation of the clichè dux speech, I have numerous individuals to thank whom I am indebted to in regards to my achievements. First and foremost, to my parents. Mum and dad, your sacrifices and contributions were the pillars to my success. Without your hard-work instilling within me what it means to be a good person, to give everything my all, and to not worry about failure as long as I gave it my best, thank you. There is no way I could have achieved the ATAR I did without your constant support.

To all of my teachers, Mrs Calabro, Mr Morris, Mr Seers, Mr Herb, Mrs Dumbleton, and careers advisor Mrs Farrugia, I would like to thank you all for the hard work and numerous hours put in to ensure I achieved highly in the HSC and in getting my 98.20 ATAR; this thanks, of course, extends to all the teachers I have had since year 7 during my time at Marian. I would like to especially thank my mentor Mrs Calabro, who I truly believe is one of the best assets Marian Catholic College possesses, and who was so helpful, supportive and catering to my every need during both years 11 and 12.

To my friends who made my time at Marian extremely memorable; I would like to thank you all.

Before I finish off, I’ll give a quick update about myself. I will be heading off next week to UNSW Sydney where I have received an offer to study a Doctor of Medicine. It is a 6-year long degree, but one that I am very grateful to have received an offer to study for as it has been my dream course for as long as I can remember; it just goes to show how talent gets you far, but hard-work and determination gets you further.

Goodluck to all of you, in particular the current year 12’s. Do your best; that’s all anyone can ask of you and I sincerely hope you all enjoy the rest of your time at Marian Catholic College as I did.

Thank you all. 

Imreet Singh

2021 Dux

Marian Catholic College