Bright Futures: Meet nine Toowoomba State High School students with big plans
Meet the next generation of pilots, scientists and world leaders to come out of Toowoomba State High School as nine senior students share their hopes and dreams for their careers.
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Whether it’s pioneering a new scientific discovery, helping end wars or serving the community, the seniors of Toowoomba State High School want to make a difference in the world.
Nine students sat down with The Chronicle to share their hopes and dreams beyond high school, with the diversity of students yielding different interests in academia and arts.
For some, the journey to graduation has been bumpier than others, with Rezgar Qado fleeing war as a child to come to Toowoomba and Lily Zupp diagnosed with a severe heart condition in her final year of school.
Read their stories of hard work and resilience here.
Rezgar Qado, 17
Born in Syria, Rezgar Qado has gone through what no high school student should, living in the midst of a war.
Coming to Toowoomba in 2017, the 17-year-old has had to learn the customs and language of another country vastly different to his home.
But Rezgar has acclimatised well, falling in love with Australia and he is now on a mission to help others in his role as Toowoomba State High School’s school captain.
“English is not my first language so when I came to this school it was very hard for me … I want to represent the other students and make our school the best it can be,” Rezgar said.
Beyond graduation Rezgar wants to become a police officer to represent his community and give back to the country that took him in.
“I want to get into the police academy … I want to be there for those who can’t speak the language, I want to help people because it’s been a dream since I was born.”
Lily Zupp, 17
It’s been a big year for Lily Zupp, who in her final year of high school found out she has a severe genetic heart condition.
After she was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in June this year, her family got tested resulting in her sister and mother also being diagnosed with the same condition.
While the Year 12 student described it as “a little scary”, her condition has helped her build resilience.
“I just kind of push through and just get on with it, I let myself feel my emotions but you just got to get on with it and in the long run not worry,” Ms Zupp said.
The 17-year-old has put her hand up for as many sports teams as possible with commitments to basketball, netball, volleyball and AFL.
Beyond graduation Ms Zupp was looking to study sports management or nursing where she can combine her passion for sports and her new-found curiosity for heart health.
“I’d like to be a sport manager of a high level sports team like the Brisbane Bullets or the Brisbane Broncos, I want to be involved on the sidelines and support and help.”
Kerenza Herndon, 18
Kerenza Herndon is shooting for the stars with the school captain on track to achieve the ATAR she needs to score a University of Southern Queensland scholarship.
The potential for scientific discovery has drawn the 18-year-old to undertake a double degree in business and science where she has a special interest in physics.
“I’ve always found general relativity and special relativity and just everything that we’re still learning quite interesting,” Ms Herndon said.
“Going into a field where it’s still developing so rapidly is exciting.”
During high school Ms Herndon took the initiative to extend her learning outside the walls of the classroom, having participated in the Girls in STEM program.
While deeply curious about space, the high achiever is happy to advance science from her home planet.
“I’ll probably do more stuff on Earth … I find the Mars rovers really interesting.”
Jeydee Francisco, 18
School captain Jeydee Francisco is looking to take a gap year before heading to university to study computer science and mathematics, with the student believing opportunities in the field are limitless.
Taking IT, digital solutions and methods and specialist maths, the 18-year-old has put himself in the best position to make the transition into tertiary education.
“Since I was young, I was pretty into technology and computers, I always tried to learn about it,” Jeydee said.
The Year 12 student has a particular interest in coding, having been introduced to it in school.
“The teachers are very supportive and have given us interest in things and helped us towards what we want to do,” he said.
The school representative is now buckling down for final exams with a rigid study schedule in place, but looks back on his final year fondly.
“I really liked being captain and bringing people together.”
Sierra Hollis, 18
Jetsetter Sierra Hollis has her eyes set on the skies as she looks to enrol in Wellcamp’s pilot academy, but before sitting in the cockpit the Year 12 student wants to be a passenger for a few more years.
Ever since she was young, Sierra loved to travel, but when she visited the Boeing Everett Factory in Washington DC she became truly fascinated.
From there her love for planes grew, taking an aviation class in Year 10 and receiving a flight lesson on her 16th birthday.
“After that flight lesson I just knew this is what I wanted to do,” Sierra said.
In 2020, she was one of the 50 girls selected for the Girls in STEM program where she went to Brisbane to participate in activities and conferences.
Her extra-curricular activities outside campus have inspired her to push for change in the school.
“I’ve run Science Week in school, I’ve run things especially more focused on girls in science, because a lot of girls get turned away from science because they sometimes think ‘no, it’s for boys’.”
Her ultimate dream is to live and work overseas, hoping to fly for an international airline.
But for now, the 18-year-old is working as a bartender to save up money for her upcoming trips to Spain, Mexico and Costa Rica.
“The things you learn when you’re overseas are very valuable and getting experience from the whole world rather than just a small place that you live is important,” she said.
Samantha Counter, 17
Decorating her room was Samantha Counter’s favourite pastime, but it was only recently when she realised she could make a career out of it.
The decision to pursue interior design came from years of art classes, making Pinterest boards and styling the family home in her free time.
“I’ve always moved my room and redecorated stuff, I just love making beautiful spaces and I thought it would be fun to do it for other people,” Samantha said.
“When I found out I loved it I kind of stuck with it … my family have to deal with me moving stuff around,” she said.
The student said she was weighing up her options of studying in Toowoomba or making the move to Brisbane.
Her dream job would be a joint effort with her best friend who wants to be a real estate agent.
“We’ve thought about her selling homes and me staging them, it could be interesting,” she said.
Lilly-Aane Piggfy, 16
Lilly-Aane Piggfy wants to make the world a more accepting and less hateful place, having been moved by world events like the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Year 11 student has big plans, hoping to study law and international relations so she can make change through policy.
Just one of her suggestions was to have a youth voice to parliament which would have a similar function to the proposed voice for First Nations Australians.
“I’ve always been the sort of person who’s wanted to do something extraordinary,” Ms Piggfy said.
The 16-year-old said she enjoyed being part of the debating club and was learning to speak Japanese in preparation for school’s exchange to Osaka.
“I want to be in a position to create change somewhere, I don’t really care where … I could be in the middle of a jungle, as long as I’m helping someone,” she said.
Daisy Reynolds, 17
As a Toowoomba Regional Council youth leader, Daisy Reynolds has been no stranger to leadership with the student gearing up to assume the role of school captain next year.
When she’s not excelling in her subjects or in various school clubs, Daisy is lobbying councillors on causes important to the community she represents.
“Currently I’m working for better mental health support in schools since it’s not always possible,” Daisy said.
One of her proudest achievements to date was organising a wear it purple day at school.
“I wanted to help the voices of LGBTQIA+ people be heard. It was just a one-off event that will hopefully continue,” she said.
After school, Daisy wants to study agricultural engineering at the University of Southern Queensland and continue her work with council.
“The world’s your oyster but it’s a really big oyster … having known I’ve helped someone overcome a difficulty to make the world a better place would be great.”
Marcus Landers, 16
Getting answers and solutions is something Marcus Landers wants to do with his life, with the Year 11 student looking to embark in a career in STEM.
The almost straight A student knew since Year 6 he wanted to pursue science with the subject coming naturally to him.
“I just naturally did better with it than a lot of people, it’s something that I’ve never not understood,” Mr Landers said.
The student hopes to go to the University of Southern Queensland with a scholarship, with his projected ATAR up to par with the course requirements.
“One of the coolest things about a STEM career is that you can make change and you have the ability to be at the cutting edge,” he said.
Pioneering a new theory or scientific discovery would be the dream for Mr Landers who finds excitement in the complex.
“What if I could be part of the solution? That would be something really cool.”
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