Leena Munjal

 Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted. ~ David Bly

Year 12…last year at school, the end of a journey that began in Kindergarten. The years ahead can be exciting, challenging or full of hardships. Some people dream of success… while others wake up and work hard at it. 

  ‘The Indian’ got in touch with a few brilliant Indian students who have scored high ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) in NSW HSC Results.

 Shiva Subramanyam (ATAR 99.85)

 Secured the TOP band in ALL of his chosen HSC units, also 99 percentile in 2009 Medicine Entrance Test (UMAT), HSC All Round Achiever.

 “The key factors behind my success include my parents’ guidance and continued support, good time management, knowing what to study and learning when to relax,” says Shiva.

 There are a few buzz words I can think of that are important for not only study but also any other ambitions readers may have including Discipline; Acceleration; Perspective; Enjoyment.

 “I have really enjoyed my life so far in Sydney. I enjoy the balance that Sydney between studying and providing the opportunity to pursue other interests, such as a variety of sports and multicultural activities. Such diversity has not come at the cost of my study experience. Sydney has provided me a number of options to excel academically – not only through OC and the selective school system but also through number of competitions and Olympiad programs,” adds Shiva.

 Telling about his source of inspiration, Shiva says, “My sources of inspiration are multi-faceted and stem from – Will to succeed: to try to better myself and achieve the best I possibly can; Achievements of my parents: in coming to Australia and building a life here for me based on their hard work; The success of my sister: whether it is sibling rivalry or learning from her achievements in school and university.”

Shiva plans to study medicine close to home and eventually specialize in the field of ophthalmology.

 “The best advice I can give is to encourage students to do what subjects are best for them, to pace themselves throughout the year (especially holidays) rather than cramming close to exams, and to realize that the HSC is a means to an end, in that it is only one of the pathways to pursue tertiary study at university,” concludes Shiva.

 Jayraj Singh Bhatti (ATAR 99.85)

 “My family supported me a lot throughout the entire of year 12, but my sister, Simren Kaur, helped me the most, explaining me the tricky concepts of physics and maths, saving my valuable time, so I would have more time for Sikhism and sports. The entire Sikh community and Sikhism also helped me stay focused throughout the entire of year 12 and allowed me to continue to do athletics during Year 11 and 12. In 2009, the current spiritual leader of the Sikhs, Akal Takhat Jathedar Mr Gurbachan Singh, visited Sydney and upon hearing of my focus in life, presented his own honorary scarf, a Siropa, as a blessing to me. This event further strengthened my love for Sikhism, studies and sport. This then, allowed me to achieve my goal of winning 2 state medals in the State All Schools Athletics competition 3 days after my HSC, winning a silver medal in Shot Putt and a bronze medal in Discus. This enabled me to have something else to do apart from just studying, so Year 12 was not just all about work,” shares Jayraj.

“My main source of inspiration was to achieve the best that I could, whilst being able to have a life outside of school. This entailed attending the National Youth Science Forum in January 2009 for 2 weeks, and also continuing to win a few state medals in athletics throughout year 12,” adds Jayraj.

 His future goals are to do medicine and one day attend the Commonwealth Games for athletics.

 “Studying is important and it all depends on how you study not how much you study. And of course, sleep at home and study in school, not the other way around” recommends Jayraj.

 Rajan Rehan (ATAR 99.1)

 Received the Premier Award and obtained BAND 6 in ALL his 6 HSC subjects.

 

Sharing his overall study experience in Sydney, Rajan says, “My study experience in Sydney has been great. I have academically achieved my goal whilst obtaining social and moral values which will help me succeed through-out my life. The friends I have made during my six years in high school have provided me with unforgettable memories and helped me during tough times.”

 
Talking about his source of inspiration, Rajan says, “I give a large amount of credit to my family, especially my Mum and Dad who provided me with the necessary support to keep me relaxed and ready for my exams. And of-course all my teachers and mates who I studied with, provided me with resources and most of all allowed to balance my study and social life.”
 

“Following the Indian stereotype, I plan to further pursue my studies in medicine. I have a genuine interest in medicine and am motivated by my relatives who have excelled in this profession. I am sure I will be accepted into medicine this year; however, if this does not happen, I will pursue an alternate-pathway to ultimately achieve my goal,” says Rajan.
“If one is to succeed in the HSC, it is important not to let your parents’ high expectations get the better of you. You must balance your study and social life smartly; too much of either is harmful. When you study, make sure you concentrate 100% instead of day-dreaming (which most of us like to do). Also, try to have any activity which helps you relax and remember to study constantly through-out the year, not just before your HSC,” advises Rajan.

 
”I would simply like to wish all the upcoming students a best of luck. Put in the hard work now because you will reap the benefits in the future,” adds Rajan.

Prashant Sallan (ATAR 96.8)

 “I think the basic factors behind my success were Time Management and My constant visualization of my goal. I never allowed others to intimidate me with how well they were doing; I always set myself goals for every assessment and tried to achieve those goals to the best of my ability” says Prashant.

 Sharing his overall study experience in Sydney, Prashant says, “It has been a wonderful time, I have studied here pretty much my whole life and have cherished every single year of my schooling life”.

 “Quite simply, i did not know what i wanted to do after school, so i aimed to get the highest ATAR i could so that i would have many options open to me later at university, by doing this i was assured of doing my family proud because my inspiration was in making sure that they know i gave it my best shot,” says Prashant.

 In future, I hope to study Actuarial Studies at university, hopefully going on to pursue this line of work”, adds Prashant.

 Prashant’s message, “I would just like to extend my very best wishes to future students. Just remember…The HSC year is not just meant to be about studying -enjoy the final year of high school and the final chances you have at participating in HSC school life!”

 Adnan Chaudhary (ATAR 95.5)

 Adnan attributes his success to consistent efforts throughout the year, a goal and aim set in his mind from the start of yr 12, consistent motivation and reminders to perform well from his parents, brilliant teachers and classmates who were always willing to help and personal motivation to succeed and achieve his goal.

 

On being asked about his overall study experience in Sydney, Adnan said “the studies here are very flexible allowing students to balance entertainment, exercise, socializing and schoolwork and still achieve a high score. Further, your marks are an accumulation of the effort you put throughout the year and not just in the HSC exams as 50% of your marks are from school based assessments and 50% from the final HSC exams.” 

 Adnan’s source of inspiration has been his desire to make his parents proud and reward them for all their efforts and time they’ve put into his education.

 For university, Adnan is considering Applied finance/b commerce-professional accounting at Macquarie university and then hopefully one day becoming CEO of Macquarie bank or make a career in the financial or banking sector.

 Adnan’s advice for future HSC students, “Study consistently and not just when the trials and exams are approaching, Clarify any concerns with the subject with your teachers as they are there to help you, Have a healthy diet and enough sleep to keep your mind active and fresh, Balance your time and put time aside for exercise entertainment and socializing as HSC is not all about being locked in your room buried in a pile of books”.

 “Remember Success is dependent on effort,” concludes Adnan.

 Noni Ahluwalia (ATAR 95.2)

 Support from family and friends and keeping a positive outlook in every situation has been behind Noni’s success.

 “Being consistent throughout the year is relatively hard, although i didnt do it myself, i still recommend it. It saves alot of time and effort towards the end of the year. However, in the end its all about motivation. Once motivation is achieved anything is possible. Just be focused,” says Noni.

 “Studies are at times stressful, however keeping faith in yourself is a key factor to overcome stress,” adds Noni.

 Talking about her source of Inspiration, Noni says Inspiration is derived from motivation. Personally my motivation is obtained from my parents, who literally thought I wouldnt get over 90. I had to prove them wrong!

 Noni wants to get into Bachelor of commerce in UNSW, and open up a business later down the track.

 Noni advises the future HSC students, “Balance it all out. Be social and be motivated. Enjoy the last year of school as well as make sure you prove yourself and make the most of your ability!”

 Darshil Shah (ATAR 93.2)

 I want to start by saying that the HSC is what you make of it. Put the effort in and you will get the results. Don’t put it in and you might regret it for the rest of your life by thinking “I wish I had…” or “If only…” says Darshil.

 Darshil’s overall study experience in Sydney has been very good. “I had many resources at my hand such as vast libraries, schools, peers and my teachers,” says Darshil.

 Talking about his source of inspiration, Darshil says “It’s been the memories of how hard my parents worked to bring us to Australia for a better education. Also the fact that we had studied 12 years to come to this point and so we must try to make the most of it by trying our best. Lastly my teachers were great inspirations as they put a lot of hard work towards our success”.

 Sharing his career goals, Darshil says, “I want to pursue a career in Economics and perhaps later teaching. I would love to work at the Reserve Bank of Australia though!”

 He advises the future students, “Always try your best, stay focussed, keep a clear mind and stay healthy. You see, if you try your level best then at the end no one can say or do anything to you”.

 Jasdeep Kaur Sambhi (ATAR 92.35)

 Telling about her success factors, Jasdeep says, “Well I think the support of my family has been the main reason I did as well as I did. Without mum and dad being there to wipe my tears when I was so stressed I don’t think I would have been able to score as well”.

 “For all my schooling life I studied in a public school and my experience couldn’t have been better. The support that the teachers gave me and the extra help I received during the year helped me a lot,” says Jasdeep.

 “My source of inspiration was mainly my passion and strong drive for success. Every time I got an assessment back I knew I could get an even higher mark if I put in more effort. I placed high expectations on myself and was determined to exceed them and I’m proud to say that I eventually did My parents were also a great inspiration to me. They left their families and friends when we migrated to Australia only so my siblings and I could have more doors of opportunity open to us. I wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity and my parents are extremely proud that I did” adds Jasdeep.

 Jasdeep aspires to become a successful marketing director one day in the near future.

 “My main message for future HSC students is to stay strong during this very stressful time. Stress and the HSC walk hand in hand, so it’s ok to be stressed because it sometimes makes you work harder. However, if like me you are becoming very emotional because of the fear of failing, do something that will take your mind off study for a while.  One final word of advice is that if you don’t get the marks that you want during the year; don’t be too sad because you can always improve.  Give it your all, so that you know that your final mark is the very best that you could do”, concludes Jasdeep.

             HSC path is loaded with hard work, dedication and focus. Success in this journey gives contentment, sense of accomplishment and a right career direction. These students and many others are a pride for the Indian community. ‘The Indian’ wishes a bright and successful future for them.