Since Year 9, Frances Lu has wanted to study arts and humanities. A work experience placement in Year 10 at a law firm cemented this and also inspired her to aspire to study law.

“I’ll never forget my work experience placement. The people that lawyers interact with and the stories that they hear really left an impression on me,” she says.

As a recipient of the University of Melbourne Chancellor’s Scholarship, Frances will initially complete her Bachelor of Arts, followed by a Law Degree.

Cara Ellis was the 2016 House Dance Captain and the 2017 Sports Captain. She received a perfect score in Dance and successfully auditioned to join the full time Dance/Performing Arts course at Patrick Studios in Melbourne, one of Australia’s most recognised institutions.

For most of her senior school life, Cara was determined to become a Vet and had her sights firmly set on studying a Bachelor of Science, followed by the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

“Half way through Year 12, I decided to pursue my passion of dance and audition for this course. Even though I was successful, I never dropped my guard in other subjects as one day, I may choose to pursue Veterinary Medicine,” says Cara.

In partnership with Swinburne University, Cara’s course is based on the industry’s needs and is designed to train and develop dancers in the areas of strength, flexibility, technique and creative expression. An extremely physical and demanding course, she will spend five full days a week during 2018 at Patrick Studios.

In her own words, “Never in a million years would I have thought I would be studying engineering!”

Whilst attending an Open Day at Swinburne University, Celeste Staaf realised that engineering actually combined her two loves of art and science.

Celeste is particularly interested in product design engineering and in the future, hopes to create innovative products that are designed and constructed with the betterment of not just human lives but animals and the greater environment.

“As an engineer, I hope to contribute to designing a better global future where everyone has access to clean water, man-made materials leave a minimal impact on the earth and, infrastructure can adapt to a growing urban population,” she says.

A new degree at Swinburne, Celeste is looking forward to the innovative and forward thinking structure of the course, which will see her working closely with industry professionals and mentors to solve real life problems.

Donna Chi has always been creative and recalls drawing continuously since primary school. Her Year 12 Visual Communication Design folio was so impressive she was made multiple offers by institutions. 

New York will soon be home for Donna as she has chosen to accept the offer made by the prestigious New York Parsons School of Design. Later this year, she will commence a Fashion Design degree and once complete, she hopes to work as a designer for a global company.

“New York is such a diverse city and full of creative people, I can’t wait to get there and immerse myself in all it has to offer,” says Donna.

To many, Laura’s double degree choice might seem like an odd combination. To Laura, they are the perfect pair… quite simply, her two passions.

Whilst she is not exactly sure what she wants to do when she completes her studies at Monash University in Aerospace Engineering and Arts, one thing is for certain, she does want to move to California.

“Not only is it where I’m from, there are also heaps of performance opportunities, as well as places like Silicon Valley, where I can hopefully put my Engineering degree to good use,” she says.