SENIOR SCHOOL

Fundraising Success - Alma Goldberg attends London International Youth Science Forum

Alma's Speech from General Assembly this week:

Recently I’ve had the honour and pleasure to attend the London International Youth Science Forum, held every year in the Imperial College in London. I attended this forum alongside 36 incredible Australian students and 500  brilliant students from 75 other countries. I was introduced to this program through the National Youth Science Forum which is another life changing program I, alongside two other year 12 BSEC students, had the privilege of attending.

Before I start talking about the forum I would just like to thank a few people for the immense amount of support I received. Firstly, thank you to the rotary club of Brighton district 9800 and especially Mr Stuart McMillan, Mr Minack, Ms Sentry, Mr Bahramis, Ms Brache, Ms Kiv as well as my teachers; Mr Naef, Mr Mallisani, Mr Tho and Ms McMahon and Ms Horrocks. This could not have happened if it weren’t for you. I’ll forever be grateful for the help and constant support I received from you, so thank you I’m extremely humbled. 

Founded in 1959, LIYSF aims to give a deeper insight into science and its applications for the benefit of mankind and to develop a greater understanding between young people of all nations. During the forum we had fascinating lectures about artificial intelligence, transient astronomy and biomedical engineering, among many other topics and areas of science. We had the opportunity to use world class facilities and learn from inspiring lecturers. We learnt about how cities impact your health, polymers that are essential in tissue engineering, the future of technologies like Siri and met lifelong friends from all over the world. This is only fitting considering this year’s theme was science at the interface.

We were “taken on a journey” as we were told. We were given hands-on experience in many fields of science as well as having the opportunity to socialise with people from other cultures, who share different ideals and values. Through debates and collaboration we made many friends and came to understand how special and unique the experiences offered by the forum are.

Usually at this point my amazing friends sitting at the back would call me out for being a nerd, not that I blame them, so now I’d like to talk about some other benefits of the forum. But if you would like to hear more about the cool stuff don’t hesitate to email or come find me during lunch and recess, I’d be happy to sit down and chat. 

One of the things the forum reinforces is how to utilise your passions into something which can help benefit the global population. I’ve discovered that there are a few things that can help you do this, and I would like to share these with you now. 

Firstly, talk to people. Sounds easy enough to just introduce yourself right? I can assure you that every single person in this room has a story worth hearing, and your own personal story is important to share. We all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences and perspectives on life. By listening and sharing we become wiser, allowing us to learn from past mistakes and improve others lives. Maybe even your own. I feel that Australia as a country has an advantage over other countries in that aspect, because we are so multicultural. This is clear in our school as well, which we are lucky to be a part of, because we celebrate all the different cultures that we have here. It has been proven that only groups of individuals with different experiences and backgrounds can save the world. So whether you were born here, or in a different country- please share, listen and I promise you, you will learn a lot and maybe even change the world.

Secondly, be smart. I’m pretty sure that when I said that at least 80% of the people in this room thought I meant that you need an Einstein IQ to be considered smart. I assure you all that you don’t. It's not about how many brain cells you have, being smart is all about being passionate and curious. At least 50% of motivation comes from within each and every one of you and if you’re passionate about what you do in life, you’ll be curious to find out more about it. Knowledge is empowering and your own passion and curiosity already makes you all geniuses. With the knowledge that you acquire through exploring your interests can make you successful in your own field and allow you to collaborate with people from other fields to solve worldwide problems. Disciplines in your fields of interest are not considered as individuals. They are co-dependent and that’s why only when combined can they be effective solutions. So be smart, now that you know what I mean, and use your acquired knowledge to contribute and help people.

Last but not least, believe in yourself. To explain this one, I would like to pose an argument; if you don’t believe in yourself, how will others? Having faith in yourself and always believing that you will achieve the goals you set for yourself will get you 90% of the way. So, maintain your passion and continuous efforts, always be curious and keep on going because if you don’t, who will? Most importantly- take risks and dare greatly, not even the sky is the limit.

By now you all probably think I'm insane standing here and telling you the most naive ideas about changing the world. Even if you don’t believe me, I truly think that every single person in this room has the potential to help shape a better world for us and future generations to come.

Year 12 Graduation Payments 2019

Payments for the Year 12 Graduation can now be made on Compass.

International students are to make card payments to the General Office.

Final date for payment is Monday 2nd September, 2019.

THERE WILL BE NO PAYMENTS ACCEPTED AFTER THIS DATE.