SACE merits and commendations 2021 – and young people tell us what’s next
These young people have soared over the hurdle of Year 12. Find out what their plans are now – and read the full list of SACE merit winners.
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The 15,644 students who completed their SACE as the class of 2021 are on their way to the next stage of their lives.
Equipped with their SA Certificate of Education, some will take on university studies or build skills through vocational training. Others will step up in a business or farm or broaden their mind through travel – when pandemic restrictions allow.
Some 1282 merits were awarded to 1016 students for stage 2 (Year 12 level) subjects in 2021.
Subject merits are awarded to students who score an overall A+ grade and demonstrate exceptional achievement in that subject.
In addition, SA Governor Frances Adamson gave commendations to 29 students for their exceptional academic, sporting and community activities. Here are their stories.
Anna Champion, 17, Pulteney Grammar School
Being Australian should mean learning about the land and cultures, wherever your ancestors come from, Pulteney Grammar School graduate Anna Champion believes.
She volunteers for conservation work such as planting trees and cleaning beaches and researched Indigenous cultural burning practices as part of her SACE, earning a Governor’s commendation.
“Being Australian it’s super important to honour and learn about Indigenous culture,” she said.
“As much as I can respectfully learn about other cultures, I will.”
She picked her research project when SA was devastated by the bushfires of the 2019-20 summer.
“I wanted to know whether there was a better way to mitigate the effects of bushfires,” she said. “And I wanted to do something in South Australia.”
She connected with cultural rangers, fire ecologists and others at Witjira National Park, in the far north of the state, which is co-managed by the traditional owners and the Environment Department.
“I found there’s a whole lot more to it than just bushfire reduction,” Anna said. “It can also improve access to sites, help plant rejuvenation and stop invasive plants and improve connection with the land.”
Anna will study Arts and Law, either at Adelaide or an interstate uni.
She has also immersed herself in European culture, taking French (continuers) at SACE through Alliance Francaise.
“I hope to study French at uni,” she said.
Caitlin Anchor, 18, Kildare College
Caitlin is passionate about helping the most vulnerable.
She is committed to promoting awareness of social issues such as human trafficking and domestic violence
Cheri Wong, 18, St Peter’s Collegiate Girls’ School
Cheri is an accomplished violinist and was a member of the Adelaide Youth Orchestra.
In 2020, while in Year 11, she received the SACE Board’s Don Maynard Music Prize for most outstanding achievement in a stage 2 Music subject.
Chloe Henderson, 18, Salisbury High School
Salisbury High School graduate Chloe Henderson is determined to make a difference.
She will become the first member of her family to go to university, when she enrols at Flinders University to study criminology and law and society.
“I want to help younger Aboriginal children to make that shift between right and wrong and get out of that trap of following the earlier generations of their family,” she said.
Her own family links are to the Wiradjuri people of NSW, although she has lived in SA all her life. At school she researched Indigenous culture and immersed herself in Aboriginal events.
Cooper Whitbread, 18, Modbury High School
Cooper played a key role in the school’s peer-support program and mentored other students with their learning.
He led the school’s guitar ensemble, was involved in the Pedal Prix and participated in both the school’s football and cricket teams, and the local football team, where he was voted the team’s best and fairest player.
He was awarded the John Tilley Memorial Award, and the ADF’s Long Tan Award.
Daisy Jury, 17, Westminster School
Daisy hopes to study creative writing while undertaking a Bachelor of Arts.
A gifted musician, she supports and advocates for students on the autism spectrum.
Emma Hislop, 18, Eynesbury Senior College
A career combining her love of dance with her passion for helping others is in sight for Emma Hislop, a graduate of the final class at Eynesbury Senior College.
Emma, who overcame reading difficulties to score an ATAR of 99.4, will study physiotherapy at UniSA and hopes to find a job attached to a dance troupe.
“Performing dance is something I know really well,” said Emma, who has already reached advanced level in the Royal Academy of Dance.
“But it’s not necessarily something I want to do as my whole future.
“Being a dance physio would be pretty amazing.
“Some physio practices have a specialist in dance and having someone who knows the sport and the art makes all the difference.”
Emma dances ballet, jazz, tap and contemporary with Carisma Dance and Fitness, which puts on an annual production.
In her research project, she looked at the social, emotional and physical effect of organised dance classes on children under the age of five – finding positives outweighed negatives.
As well as her dance success, Emma was commended by the Governor for her social justice work and her creative writing.
She headed a group at Eynesbury which raised funds for organisations such as Catherine House and took part in the UN Youth’s poverty summit.
Emma won a poetry prize from the SA English Teachers Association.
“I had a really fantastic English teacher,” she said.
“He was really encouraging when I didn’t view it as a strength because I’m dyslexic; I was diagnosed when I was in year 3.
“So reading was never easy for me, English and spelling were really difficult.
“But as I grew up I got a lot more determined and with help from incredible teachers, English became one my strong subjects”.
In the SACE, Emma received an A grade for English Literary Studies.
She was sad to see the end of Eynesbury, which has closed because Covid-19 restrictions blocked the international students who were essential to the school’s business model.
Emily Lindner, 18, Seymour College
Emily Lindner epitomises the complete all-rounder.
As well as playing two musical instruments, she found time to play four sports at high school – football, basketball, volleyball and netball.
That’s of course if she was not too busy co-ordinating community events, preparing Zonta birthing kits or following her true passion – tutoring the next generation in maths.
“It’s been a busy few years and I had to learn to use my time well but I guess I just got into a routine,” she said.
“I had lots of timetables and if I had two hours spare I would make sure I’d get things done to not fall behind.
“There were also quite a few late nights, but in a way it was fun.”
Emily will studying actuarial science in NSW next year to study.
“With actuarial science, I’ve always been interested in the consultancy aspect, making recommendations to companies and giving them my advice,” she said.
“Math has always been my favourite subject so working in this field would give me the opportunity to use my love for maths to help others.”
Evelyn Vincin Walker, 18, St Ignatius College
Evelyn’s achievements in public speaking have been widely recognised.
She was the Rostrum voice of youth senior state winner, named as the most valuable senior debater by the SA Debating association and received the Fran Conroy medal for best speaker.
Georgia Kehagias, 18, Immanuel College
Fashion will figure in the future for Georgia Kehagias, as she looks at combining her aptitude for science with her passion for environmental sustainability.
At Immanuel College, where she was school captain, Georgia set up an online platform promoting sustainable fashion, second-hand shopping and conscious consumerism.
“As I got into sustainable fashion, I found there were women in science and engineering who have inspired me to follow that path,” she said. “I saw you could link up your passions, there are lots of brands on a sustainability course.
“It’s the whole process, the designing, the producing, the social, lots of factors affect the environment.”
In the subject Material Solutions, she looked at microplastics, synthetic fibres and pollution in the fashion industry.
Growing up in the city’s beachside suburbs, Georgia has seen changes in the sand dunes in her lifetime.
She volunteers for beach clean-ups and dune management in Tennyson, Semaphore and Largs Bay.
She was commended by the Governor for her community work and her SACE studies, which included researching the diverse views on sand pumping and mitigation strategies.
Sand pumping was working south of Glenelg and she “hoped for the best” on the planned Semaphore to West Beach project.
“There are pros and cons to everything,” she said.
“Human impact has caused the issues; now we have to fix it.”
She wants young people’s views to be heard and so has become a coastal ambassador through the Environment and Water Department.
Georgia was named SA’s Student Citizen of the Year 2021 by the Order of Australia Association.
She will study environmental engineering at Adelaide University.
Grace Gregurev, 18, Endeavour College
Grace represented her school in netball, soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball.
In 2021, Grace was awarded the Makin Humanitarian Award, which recognises a senior student who has demonstrated outstanding humanitarian qualities in the Makin electorate
Gyum (Clive) Park, 18, Pembroke School
Clive moved to Australia from South Korean when he was five and studied Korean outside school to maintain his first language.
He participated in cross country, soccer and tennis.
During holidays, he volunteered in rural Ceduna where he was involved in a number of community activities.
Holly Schutz, 18 Pedare Christian College
Holly has contributed to many fundraising initiatives within the college, including the senior school quiz night and raising money for the Royal Flying Doctor’s Service
Joel Ransom, 17, St John’s Grammar School
Joel is an accomplished debater and public speaker and has made multiple finalist rounds in the Legacy, Plain English Speaking and Rostrum public speaking competitions.
His own family’s challenge with the BRCA gene ignited his efforts to fund raise for the Cancer Council and educating others about the gene.
He designed, hosted and delivered humorous videos of exercises for students that promote physical activity.
Katelin Gunn, 18, Scotch College
When Katelin Gunn was bowled over on the basketball court for the first time a few weeks ago, she didn’t hesitate to get up and play again.
It’s what her life has been like since December 2018 when a vehicle accident on the family’s Eyre Peninsula farm left her paralysed.
That sheer grit and determination to move on and thrive has led Katelin to be commended by the Governor.
She is in the squad of the Devils – Australia’s under-25 wheelchair basketball team – training for the 2023 world championships as well as the mixed-gender state team.
Sport is a big part of Katelin’s life.
She captained Scotch College middle school girls’ team before the accident and has kept involved, coaching football in 2020 and 2021, on top of her school subjects.
“My friends were playing footy so we worked around our study commitments,” she said.
In her SACE research project she looked at how people adapt to a spinal cord injury, finding there were many different strategies in dealing with the change.
“The people around me have been really supportive,” she said.
“That helped me move forward and get involved in other things – like coaching rather than playing.”
She’s a staunch member of the Adelaide Football Club and has been recognised by Crows captain Rory Sloane as “one of the most positive girls I’ve ever met”.
Katelin hopes to study speech pathology because she’s experienced how allied health professionals can help their patients.
She also has an offer for the human movement course at UniSA.
Katelin helps out at the family’s cropping and sheep property at Colley, near Streaky Bay, when she can.
Keeley Menadue, 17, Xavier College
Mallala teenager Keeley Menadue has already been in the spotlight for her skills in dressage, and now has her sights set on further success.
“I want to keep training and competing and, maybe one day, go to the equestrian games,” she said, before adding: “But I’m a few years off that.”
Keeley received a state youth scholarship from Dressage SA and won awards in 2019 and 2020.
She was in the high performance youth squad and competed for South Australia in the national inter-school championships.
She also achieved high academic grades and was dux of Xavier College, Gawler Belt.
Working with horses was her passion and gave her welcome breaks from the routine of studying.
Keeley has her own horses but also rides for a stud at Pinkerton Plains.
“I don’t really have a favourite but the ones I regularly compete on are Rosie and Donny,” she said.
She said her school and teachers encouraged her involvement in sport, making allowance for her having to travel interstate for competitions.
In her SACE, she researched the management of equine asthma in high performance horses.
Keeley will study physiotherapy at UniSA and hopes to work with sport teams, building on her experience as an equestrian competitor.
“I miss school already but I’m looking forward to starting something fresh and meeting new people,” she said.
Kyle Baker, 18, Blackfriars Priory School
While completing year 12, Kyle Baker managed to find the time to train five times a week for his beloved circus acrobatics
The Blackfriars Priory School graduate, who has an intellectual disability, was honoured with the Governor’s Commendation in modified SACE.
He also won Blackfriars’ school-based modified SACE award, as well as an Order of Australia Association Student Citizenship Award.
Kyle is a performer and coach with CircoBats Community Circus, and said performing is one of his greatest passions.
“Performing for other people is one of the key points I like to stand out with,” he said.
He was in the CircoBats show at the Adelaide Fringe and gained coaching qualifications with Gymnastics SA.
He also played lacrosse and coached an under-11s team at Blackfriars
He has a clear answer on his plans for 2022 – nursing – because he likes helping people.
To those feeling anxious about year 12 this year, he said “just give it your best shot (and) be happy with the result that you get, because you tried your best”.
Lillian Orsillo, 18, Sacred Heart College
Flicking through fashion magazines as a kid, Lillian Orsillo noticed every female model had the same body shape, and wore clothes she usually wouldn’t take to.
“They were always wearing clothes that normal bodies wouldn’t suit or wear,” Lillian, 17, said.
The Somerton Park teenager is making it her mission to change the way clothes are portrayed in fashion, promoting body positivity for all women.
The Sacred Heart College graduate won a Governor’s Commendation for her SACE result and charity work.
She raised money for the Hutt St Centre, participating in the Walk a Mile in My Boots walk, and the Vinnies winter sleep-out.
She is also interested in languages, completing SACE stage 2 Italian in year 11 and then taking extension studies Italian at Flinders University in year 12, gaining high distinctions.
Her favourite subject was legal studies, for which she received a merit, but she will study fashion this year at TAFE and Flinders University to help make her aspirations of creating a welcoming fashion label a reality.
“My goal is to have my own label, definitely Adelaide-based, and I want to make it inclusive and welcoming to all people, and accessible to all people.”
As well as her SACE subjects, Lillian took dancing, singing, and piano lessons.
With her family, she raises funds for a village in Fiji, and cultivates ongoing friendships with the villagers.
Lily Farrell, 18, Loreto College
Lily was awarded the title of Young Historian of the Year in 2019 and 2020 and was only the second student from South Australia to win three major history competitions.
She won an ADF Future Innovators Award, which recognises students who are critical thinkers and problem solvers and who show high achievement in mathematics and science
Lily Di Cola, 18, Cabra Dominican College
In addition to her SACE studies Lily plays high level women’s soccer in the SA Women’s National Premier League and is part of the National Training Centre program
Lucas Scroop, 18, St John’s Grammar School
Lucas Scroop achieved the state’s only “perfect” score for his year 12 results.
The St John’s Grammar School student said he liked to quote a good friend’s motto, “live and live”.
“The ‘and’ is italicised, so it’s live and live,” he explained.
He did much more than required of him, taking six subjects instead of four and excelling in all of them: specialist mathematics, chemistry, English literary studies, physics and the research project this year, plus Japanese (continuers), and mathematical methods last year.
“My parents worked very hard to send me to a good school,” he said, so he worked hard in return.
This year he intends to study mechanical engineering, with a major in climate solutions, combined with a diploma in Japanese.
Madeleine Moss, 18, Walford Anglican School for Girls
She may have scored a near-perfect ATAR but Madeleine Moss insists maintaining good mental and physical health in year 12 is as important as the final score.
Maddie, as she prefers, hopes her 99.90 ATAR will secure her a spot to study medicine at Adelaide University, with her passion for mental health leading her to specialise in psychiatry or pathology.
“I did my research project on electroconvulsive therapy (and its use for) treatment-resistant depression,” she said.
“I found it is the most effective treatment but society knows it as shock therapy and it is stigmatised … I learned a lot about the stigma around mental illness and the treatment for it.”
As a leader in year 12, Maddie and fellow student councillor Zoe Berry, established a mental health awareness program at their school, Walford Anglican School for Girls.
Called “Mental Health Mondays”, it involved a series of awareness-raising events across the year, culminating in a walkathon to raise money for local charity, Skylight Mental Health.
“A lot of people say all that matters in year 12 is academics but I found if I didn’t have stable mental health, I couldn’t get the grades I wanted and if I didn’t have good physical health, I couldn’t have the mental health I wanted,” she said.
“It was challenging at times to balance all three (but) making sure I did was really important.”
The keen sportswoman – Maddie plays soccer and water polo – also plays trumpet and trombone, performing in ensembles.
“When I wasn’t at school or studying, I spent a lot of time playing music or playing sport … I found that was a good way to challenge my brain and body while still being social,” she said. “It is important for people to take breaks from study and do different things, otherwise you will go stir crazy.”
Manish Augustine, 18, Rostrevor College
Keen cricketer Manish participates in a multicultural T20 cricket competition where he has forged relationships with recently arrived migrants.
Manish works with reception students, and advocates for children who have experienced trauma
Muhammad Ali, 24, Thebarton Senior College
Muhammad has returned to studies as an adult.
English is his fourth language, and while he taking the SACE he also supported his family.
As a refugee, he is sensitive to the needs and difficulties faced by other refugees.
Although recalling his experiences is emotionally challenging, he is willing to discuss them with others, as he believes that only by sharing such stories can compassion be increased.
Nikita Page, 18, Wilderness School
Nikita took part in the National Youth Science Forum in early 2021.
She was also part in the Evatt Trophy competition, which engages high school students in world affairs and issues through debating.
Nikita plans to undertake a degree in Advanced Mathematics at Adelaide University.
Sebastian Alfred, 17, Christian Brothers College
Tutoring his fellow pupils in the sciences, gave Sebastian Alfred a much deeper understanding of the subjects himself.
“It wasn’t why I did it, I was doing it to help people, but teaching did reinforce the knowledge in my own mind a lot better than standard study,” he said.
“I got really familiar with the concepts.
“It was part of my philosophy for year 12, whether it was younger students or those in the same year as me.”
It paid off, with Sebastian completing SACE as dux of Christian Brothers College on an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 99.7 and a commendation from the Governor.
He will study chemical engineering at Adelaide University and hopes to turn that into a double degree with law.
At CBC since year 3, Sebastian said in his final years he benefited from past students coming to the school to share tips on how to study and prepare for their exams.
“I worked with them multiple times a week throughout the year on how to achieve the maximum,” he said.
Once he begins uni, he intends to repay the favour and go back to CBC to help the next batch of students as they embark on their final schooling years.
He’s keen to forge a career in South Australia, with an ambition to join the growing space sector.
“A lot of job opportunities are opening up in the sector,” he said.
Roles for chemical engineers will include developing better fuels, designing food for astronauts, increasing efficiency and so on, he believes.
He took a heavy load at SACE, completing 10 subjects.
Alongside the sciences, he excelled in music performance and did his research project on jazz music.
He loves big band music and hopes to join a group at uni.
“Mainly I play piano but I also play saxophone and percussion,” he said.
He was disappointed the Generations in Jazz festival in Mt Gambier has been cancelled for the past two years because of Covid-19, but he won awards at the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors’ Association festival in Adelaide.
Tayla Roberts, 18, Streaky Bay Area School
Living in Streaky Bay and going to the area school where there were only eight year 12 students presented formidable logistic challenges for Tayla Roberts.
She had to join up with two other Eyre Peninsula schools – Tumby Bay and Edward John Eyre in Whyalla — to take the subjects she wanted.
But Tayla wouldn’t have it any other way and is committed to returning to a regional town once she’s completed her university studies.
Her dedication paid off, with a 99.95 Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) and a commendation from the Governor.
“I’ve had some people ask what happened to the other 0.05,” she said.
“But that’s as high as you can actually get.”
She aims to forge a career in the health sector but is still deciding between optometry, physiotherapy and other fields.
“I want to choose something that will allow me to move back to the country and work in a rural community,” she said, adding: “I do love the country lifestyle.”
For SACE, she took biology and chemistry through Tumby Bay, nutrition at Edward John Eyre and the rest through Streaky Bay.
Much of the work was completed online and in intensive practicals, where several lessons were bundled into one session.
Tayla also found time to advocate for other students and young people as a Rural Youth Ambassador, which included being selected to attend a national forum in Canberra.
“We spoke about the problems we face in country schools and suggested solutions,” she said.
Problems included lack of subject choice, limited equipment, lack of resources, issues with underperforming teachers as well as limited mental health support services.
“We really got our foot in the door with the federal minister,” she said.
They were also assured by South Australian Education Department chief executive Rick Persse that extra funding would be available for regional schools.
In 2022, Tayla hopes to work with Country Education Partnership to become a mentor to the next batch of school students in the Rural Youth Ambassador program.
In Streaky Bay she worked at the IGA supermarket and Bayfunktion cafe.
“I love surfing, snorkelling, swimming, fishing, all that stuff,” she said.
Tess Wight, 17, Tenison Woods College
Riding on her Mt Gambier home track – a concrete, outdoor velodrome – Tess Wight has seen plenty of cyclists come off their bikes in nasty crashes.
It’s pushed her towards her career choice, becoming a paramedic, which she will study at Flinders University.
“Because of cycling, I have a real love for health,” she said. “And you do see a lot of accidents – stacks and crashes – but you feel a bit helpless. It’ll be really cool to be able to help people when something happens rather than just standing back.
“And it’s a job that’s always going to be there, paramedics can’t be replaced.”
Tess, who was commended by the Governor for her SACE 2021 results and her sporting achievements, was dux of Tenison Woods College with an ATAR of 95.45.
She was in the SA side which won the under 19 women’s team pursuit at the Australian nationals track championship in 2020.
She rides on the track and the road for the Mt Gambier Cycling Club and was attached to the SA Sports Institute before the demands of constant travel to Adelaide forced her to ease back so she could concentrate on year 12.
Mt Gambier has weekly races and Tess has been up against the adults rather than only in an age group.
“They are a lot more girls now, which is good. When I started, it was mostly boys,” she said.
When she moves to Adelaide for uni, Tess plans to focus more on road cycling.
Looking ahead, she feels positive about returning to Mt Gambier for work.
“I’ll definitely consider it because they struggle to get health care workers in regional SA,” she said.
Health was the key to her research project where she looked at the effectiveness of medical marijuana as a treatment for epilepsy.
“I wanted to research something that was a bit controversial and which looked forward,” she said.
“I had some primary sources I interviewed and they found it very useful.”
Tess said her approach to year 12 was to stay on top of the workload. “Don’t let it pile up,” she said.
Thomas Frew, 17, Nazareth Catholic College
Thomas won an ADF Future Innovators Award for 2021.
He designed and built a digital application “SACEology” to help students and teachers to understand and teach the SACE.
In his research project, Thomas investigated possible life forms on the terrestrial planets of the stellar system.
His findings are being published by the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, and the Astronomical Society of SA has asked him to deliver a presentation.
Zane Lindblom, 18, Westminster College
After a taste of leadership at Westminster School, Zane Lindblom has set his sights on politics.
One day he would like to become prime minister.
“Indeed I would,” the Brighton teenager said.
“I‘m part of the leadership team at school and talking about equality just sparked something in my mind, I want to help people and I think this is my avenue.”
Zane hails from the Ngiyampaa tribe of the Hay Plains in NSW, although his family settled in Adelaide before he was born.
His family history was the subject of a live interview on stage, in front of the entire senior school last year, where he described how his grandpa had struggled with racism and abuse.
His mother broke free from the cycle of abuse to raise her family in Adelaide.
“I want more equality across the country basically, whether it be for gay people, for First Nations people, for women, that’s the biggest thing I’m focusing on,” Zane said.
“We probably live in the best country in the world and there are still so many inequalities here, particularly for Aboriginal people.”
Commended by the Governor for his SACE and advocacy on Indigenous issues, Zane has already accepted an offer from the Australian National University in Canberra, where he plans to study a double degree in law and politics, philosophy and economics.
He plays basketball, works out at the gym and follows a vegan diet based on ethical concerns – “and then environmental and health are bonus”, he said.
– with Clare Peddie, Dixie Sulda, Lydia Kellner, Patrick James, Rebecca Whitfield-Baker
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