UneArthing indigenoUs FAshion And tAlent Tracks2uni page2 Explore university in your living room

120 Pages·2014·10.53 MB·English

issue 01, October 2014
Tracks2uni page2 In conversation with
Explore university AAron Pedersen
in your living room page46
page 33
UneArthing page18 the frst step is to fnd
out what “you are passionate about,
indigenoUs FAshion then fnd out how you can best be
supported to make it happen.
And tAlent
Kyle Vander Ku”yp
cover image features 2013 koorie graduates alana ryan and jae crilly
Koorie Year 12 Magazine is proudly produced by the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated (VAEAI). In developing this magazine
VAEAI has been supported by our partners in Koorie Education, the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD).
Selected text in this publication was reproduced by permission from Where to Now? 2014 Guide to the VCE, VCAL and Apprenticeships and Traineeships
© Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority 2014.
The VCAL handprint graphic is a registered trademark of the VCAA. Where to Now? was distributed to Victorian schools in June 2014 and is freely
available for download as a General Publication from the VCAA website (www.vcaa.vic.edu.au).
Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc.
144 Westbourve Grove: PO Box 113, Northcote 3070 • p 03 9486 1599 /f: 03 9486 1577
illustrations: dixon patten
design: sophie gaur
I N T H I S I S S U E
A Message from the President of VAEAI 1
Tracks2uni: Explore University in Your Living Room 2
Different Learning Pathways 10
Indigenous Fashion Unearthed 33
The First Koorie Statewide Year 12 Graduation 68
I N T E R V I E W S
Alana Ryan 4
Stacy Alsop 9
Professor Mark Rose 16
Kyle Vander Kuyp 18
Sophie Young 20
Tyson Austin 26
Jirra Harvey 31
Andrew Jackomos 36
Rose Falla 42
Aaron Pedersen 46
Jade Solomon 58
S T U D E N T I N f o R m a T I o N
54 Scholarships
61-62 Be a part of the Koorie Year 12 Book 2014
63-67 Student Support: Key Contacts in Koorie Education
69-114 2013 Koorie Year 12 Student Profles from across Victoria
Which
one
suits
you?
Hurry! Send us your details
before the 7th of November!!
“I am
empowered
by our people.”
THE INSTITUTE OF KOORIE
EDUCATION: LEADING
PROVIDER OF INDIGENOUS
HIGHER EDUCATION
The Institute of Koorie Education offers world class higher education, research
opportunities and a responsive cultural experience for Indigenous students.
Community-based learning allows you to combine your family and community
obligations with study assisting you to achieve your educational and career
aspirations alongside your lifestyle and commitments.
Discover a world of opportunity at the Institute of Koorie Education.
Enrol now at deakin.edu.au/ike
DEA 201 Deakin Uniev isr yt CRICOS Pivo r de r Cdo e: B3 1 0 0 1
THE INSTITUTE OF KOORIE
A Message from
EDUCATION: LEADING
PROVIDER OF INDIGENOUS
the President of VAEAI
HIGHER EDUCATION
decisions, decisions, decisions . . .
You have just picked up a copy of VAEAI’s frst ever pathways Koorie Magazine.
This magazine is about your life as a Koorie student in school and your life
after school. It is a magazine for every Koorie secondary school student who
has been asked “What do you think you will do when you fnish school?” I’m
tipping that’s most of you!
It takes time to work out what direction you want to take. What you should
know is there are more options available to you now than ever before. Each
year more Koorie students are fnishing Year 12, and entering into university,
traineeships, apprenticeships and employment.
I went to school at Nathalia High School, near Cummeragunja, in the 1960s.
I loved school, I loved learning and being around my sisters and brothers,
cousins and friends. In those days it was very rare for an Aboriginal person
to complete Year 12. Although I would have loved to stay in school, it was not
fnancially realistic at the time - so I left in Year 11. Now I fnd myself studying
for a Bachelor of Early Childhood, many years later!
When I was in school most Aboriginal people were encouraged to fnish school
early and look for stable employment, that was the done thing. Today is very
different, there is not just one done thing for Koorie people, there are many
different study and career pathways.
VAEAI monitors the numbers of Koorie
This magazine explores some of those pathways through interviews, articles
students who are completing VCE and and student profles written by Koorie Year 12 students themselves.
VCAL annually, and we have been noticing We hope you enjoy the Koorie pathways Magazine for 2014.
a trend: the number of Koorie Year 12 Stay strong in your culture, strong in yourself, and follow the pathway to your
The Institute of Koorie Education offers world class higher education, research
graduates keeps climbing. In 2013, a total dream career!
opportunities and a responsive cultural experience for Indigenous students.
of 384 Koorie students graduated from Year
Community-based learning allows you to combine your family and community
obligations with study assisting you to achieve your educational and career 12 in Victoria: 319 from government schools,
aspirations alongside your lifestyle and commitments. 28 from Catholic schools and 37 from
Discover a world of opportunity at the Institute of Koorie Education. Independent schools. This is a record high. Geraldine Atkinson
Enrol now at deakin.edu.au/ike Koorie Pathways Magazine • Issue 01, 2014 1
DEA 201 Deakin Uniev isr yt CRICOS Pivo r de r Cdo e: B3 1 0 0 1
Exploring University in Your Living Room.
Does University seem like a strange and You can take the frst step to explore Victorian
unfamiliar place to you? Don’t let that put you off! universities at school, on the couch, or even in
Going to University could be the best time of your bed by using the tracks2uni website.
life and can lead you to a deadly career of your
choice!
Select your
interest areas
Let’s get Like all the
started study path-
ways you are
interested in
2 Koorie Pathways Magazine • Issue 01, 2014
For more information visit
www.tracks2uni .edu.au
tracks2uni was devised through the Toorong Marnong Accord, which is an agreement between VAEAI and the 9 Victorian
universities. The focus of the Agreement is on making university an friendlier place for Koories.
It is as simple as that!!
Good Luck with your studies!
Complete your
Select the
contact details so the
location you chosen universities
can get in touch with
might like to
you. Once you confrm
study at your contact details
you will also receive
a confrmation email
with a summary of
your interests.
Confrm your
choices
Koorie Pathways Magazine • Issue 01, 2014 3
Alana’s Amazing ATAR
On Sunday December 15, 2013, Alana Ryan, a Koorie
(Wotjabaluk/Gunditjmara/Ngarrindjeri) Year 12 student
from Ballarat Clarendon College, received a call asking her to
be at school early on Monday. That kind of call might make a
lot of students nervous, but Alana was not in trouble.
End of year results were about to be released and Clarendon
College had an idea that Alana’s score would be good. So good
in fact the college wanted to take photos to mark the occasion.
You can imagine Alana would have been thinking before she
went to sleep, “I can rest easy, I must have done OK”.
Even that call from school probably did not prepare Alana for
the news that her Australian Tertiary Entrance Rank (ATAR)
was 99.25, putting her in the top one percent of high achievers
in Year 12 across Australia.
VAEAI talked to Alana about her amazing ATAR, her fnal
Year at school, and her plans for life after Year 12.
Congratulations on your ATAR score and for fnishing
Year 12. Can you tell me what it was like for you getting
your results?
Pretty awesome. The score was higher than I expected, it
everything that I hoped for.
Your family must be very proud, what did they say?
Mum came running in the room when I got the results, and
she was really excited. They were all so excited for me, they
were really happy. My brother and sister were so proud of
me, my Dad bought me fowers.
How about your friends at school, what did they think?
They were pretty excited too. When I went into school,
everyone was sharing their results, most of my friends were
really happy with their results as well.
What did you study in Year 12?
English language, Global politics, Australian History,
Psychology, Philosophy, Further Maths last year.
4 Koorie Pathways Magazine • Issue 01, 2014
. . . school has been really good to me,
it’s hard to imagine my life without it . . .
What were your favourite subjects? The next day was valedictory day, there was a formal
Politics and Psychology. breakfast at the school, then every Year 12 had 30 seconds
to give a speech and thank everyone. Some of the speeches
You mentioned that your politics teacher Laura Brady were really emotional, and made you cry. Others were funny
is one of your role models, can you tell me more about stories.
her?
She is only young but she has achieved a lot for her age. Were you sad to fnish school?
She really cares about all of her students, and is really It is bitter sweet. I am really excited to fnish school. But
knowledgeable, and willing to share what she knows. You school has been really good to me, it’s hard to imagine my
can have big long chats with her about anything. life without school. I don’t know what I will do with my time
now.
You were elected School Captain in your fnal year,
how did you balance your study with this extra What are you planning on doing after Year 12?
responsibility? I am off to do a Bachelor of Arts, (at the University of
I found it was just all about managing my time. I used my Melbourne) and study history, sociology and politics.
spares (free lessons) at school for School Captain activities. Hopefully I will live in a college at uni. I have a few good
Also I had to keep my priorities in check, if a SAC came up friends who live in residential at college, so there will be
I would focus on that. But I really enjoyed being the school familiar faces already.
captain, I never saw it as an extra thing I had to do.
And after your degree you mentioned a career in
What kind of activities were you involved in as school International Relations or Teaching?
captain? Yes, I am interested in both. Teaching has always been
We had to run assembly every second week, we spoke at an interest of mine. The teachers at Clarendon are pretty
our Founders’ Day service, we organised the Year 12 formal, fantastic.
including food, decorations, venue. The theme of the formal
was Famous Figures. I went as George Washington. Well you seem like a lovely person and we wish you all
the best with everything. And thanks for being on our
Was that because of your interest in politics? cover!
Yeah maybe. I also thought it was a cool costume that Thanks, thank you very much.
would be fun. I found a red jacket and a wig. Some of the
other costumes were PacMan, Alice in Wonderland, Tarzan
. . . as captains we had to
and Jane, Mr Incredible, Indiana Jones… Also at our school run assembly every second week,
everyone gets their own hoodies in Year 12, so the Year we spoke at our Founders’ Day service,
12 committee had to organise that. There was a stuff up we organised the Year 12 formal, including
with the jumpers, they were the wrong sizes, and had to be food, decorations, venue. The theme of the
formal was ‘Famous Figures’.
reprinted. I went as George Washington.
What was your graduation week like?
It was such a massive week, four days in a row of
celebrations, at the last school assembly we had silly
awards, like “selfe queen,” “most inappropriate car for their
size,” that is, tall person little car. On muck up day, the Year
12s covered the senior school offces in sticky notes.
Koorie Pathways Magazine • Issue 01, 2014 5
Key pathways to Monash
Diploma of Tertiary Indigenous programs
Studies (DoTS)
Monash is committed to increasing access and success
DoTS is an alternative entry pathway to
Monash. It is a one-year program that is for Indigenous Australians.
equivalent to the frst year of a university
undergraduate course. The Indigenous Enabling Indigenous Non-Award
Successfully completing DoTS, with the Program (IEP) Pathway (INAP)
required average, allows you to enter
directly into the second year of a selected The Indigenous Enabling Program is In this pathway we assist you to choose
range of Monash courses. DoTS provides designed for students whose ATAR score and enrol in two frst-year university units.
ftnbrheoeegm dcin h d fsoatirycu sedou,yn cfience,ge xa sitbnosid wliat hayt aruadvnnseid v yte hosreus pirft ypce.ohx Yiorbots iulyeito nywu tdi lo le gree etafahnloltdsrs yehb taewovlo hetwh one oatihrtr epc rosmeemfienprkimrlienutdgem dm erYaegetqruaeurreei r1,-e 2am.gnedn eftonsr t froyr utShnuedictssece ree gtsnwrsaofdbu ulule cansoti teysm o.d puWel egteotr ie opeenrn o wrovofilt d htihen c e yarsoe eMud t iowtw nfiotah rs h
choose a stream that interests you from The program runs for one semester and a tutor for each of your units to help you
business, business administration, consists of three units of study and an make a successful transition to university
education or nursing. assisted tutorial program designed to study. INAP is also suitable for adults
Unlike many other university courses, your develop the study skills needed to enter returning to study.
DoTS application is based on more than just an undergraduate degree. This program is
your Year 12 score, and takes into account ABSTUDY-approved for full-time students.
your life experience, drive, and desire to If you successfully complete the Indigenous
succeed at university. This makes DoTS a Enabling Program you will then be able to
terrifc option if you didn’t get the ATAR you enrol in a Monash undergraduate degree.
expected, or if you are looking to return to
university as a TAFE graduate or mature
aged student.
Entry requirements
For further information on admissions, pathways
To apply for DoTS you need to have:
and scholarships available at Monash University,
completed Year 12 with an ATAR of
at least 50, or please contact the Indigenous Student
completed a graded TAFE certifcate Recruitment Coordinator, Kristel Keleher
IV with a distinction (70%) average or at