Budding filmmaker Corina Choy freely admits that mathematics isn’t her strongest subject and yet she placed First in Course in Mathematics Standard 1 Examination from a field of almost 5,500 HSC candidates.
“I honestly wasn’t expecting to come first in any of my subjects, let alone in a course that wasn’t my strongest subject,” the Bethany Catholic College Hurstville Year 12 graduate said modestly.
Corina’s classmate Jovanka Lim also received a First in Course award in Indonesian and Literature, which she studied through the NSW School of Languages.
“I can’t fully express how extremely grateful I am for the award,” Jovanka said.
Both students were recognised by Sarah Mitchell, Minister for Education and Early Learning, during an online ceremony on 19 January 2022.
The awards place the students among NSW’s top achievers from the 76,399 students who sat one or more HSC courses in 2021.
“It’s definitely an exciting feeling!” – Corina Choy
What the future holds
Corina plans to start a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Film and Television) at JMC Academy this year and said the lessons learned from her Mathematics teacher at Bethany College would be invaluable in her future studies.
“I am passionate about visual communication and filmmaking,” Corina said.
“Although there isn’t a direct link to maths, I can definitely see myself utilising the skills I acquired in the subject to assist in the organisation of budgeting and production.
“My teacher definitely offered a range of resources that assisted both my peers and I [in the HSC exam], especially when it came to providing past HSC questions and worked solutions.
“I did enjoy being able to practice everyday skills such as working out the measurements needed for a particular scenario.”
HSC First in Course recipient Jovanka Lim
Corina said the opportunity to cultivate her creative skills was the highlight of her HSC year.
“There’s just something about being truly independent with your design brief and being able to hold the final say in your project – that allowed me to expand the way I saw the world,” she said.
Jovanka lived in Indonesia for 14 years and said she loved the opportunity to study a course in her first language.
“I applied for this course through Mr Gianni, who is in charge of managing students who study languages outside of school,” Jovanka said.
“He’s a great teacher and person, who always encourages me.
“I was able to learn my own culture more deeply and I would like to pass it on to the future generations.”