2007 Monthly VCE Achiever Winner

November: Tom Ballard

Tom Ballard is a student who is passionate about raising awareness of social issues and making positive changes through public speaking, film making and performing. Tom is an active member in his community and school. ‘I think everyone can help by doing something simple, like donating blood. I have been really lucky in life and it’s good to give something back’, Tom says.

As School Captain, Tom is respected by his peers and teachers for his leadership at Brauer College. He has led the school in many debating and mooting championships as well as mentoring juniors in the school. Tom enjoys speaking about a range of topical issues such as confronting homophobia, cyber bullying and the convoluted language used by politicians. Despite the contentious nature of some of these topics Tom is aware that it is better ‘to look at positive angles on things because it is too easy to talk about negatives’.

Tom won the Plain English Speaking Award for the state this year and was runner-up in the national finals held at ANU in Canberra. He is looking forward to going to England next May to compete in the international competition.

As part of the local anti-homophobia activist group YUMCHA, Tom helped make a short promotional DVD that playfully depicted the gay/straight world in reverse. At the launch of the DVD they invited local teachers and principals to view the fi lm in the hope that it will be shown in schools to promote tolerance. The YUMCHA group is made up of both gay and straight young people (all under 25 years old) who are proactive about making a difference and promoting tolerance. Tom says, ‘I really admire young people who stand up for what they believe in’. The group are organising banners to display at underage events and have had parents with same-sex attracted
children speak at their meetings.

At the community level he has been involved with the Warrnambool Council and their youth programs. Tom says, ‘in Warrnambool we are really lucky because the Youth Council and Youth Department provide great opportunities for us to get involved – there is a lot to do if you are keen’. For instance, as part of FReeZA he helped organise Hard Wired, which is a large drug and alcohol free music event for the youth in the community.

When asked how he got motivated and involved in public speaking and leadership in the community, Tom replied with mild reflection, ‘I guess it all started when I joined the junior council in primary school’. This led to SRC at high school level and then other opportunities came up that looked fun. ‘I have made a lot of good friends from this and I also get to meet important people, like the Victorian Governor who recently came to Warrnambool’.

With Year 12 being a crucial academic year, Tom admits he has tried to cut back on the extracurricular activities but acknowledges that ‘if I really wanted to do something I can make time for it. It’s not a huge commitment nor is it a huge burden; and it can be a nice way to take a break from study’.

Although Tom spends a lot of his spare time being involved in many school and community-based activities, he always has time for his main passions – acting, performing stand-up comedy, writing scripts, making fi lms and directing theatre productions. Tom was chosen to perform his Theatre Studies monologue in the 2007 VCE Season of Excellence – in both Top Class and Top Acts concerts. Last year he was also state finalist in the Triple J Raw Comedy competition, which he regards as his proudest achievement. ‘It was such a great night and a great gig’, he said with enthusiasm. For Tom, ‘performing is what I want to do. I don’t see it as a waste of time because I enjoy it’. Indeed his main aspiration for next year is to study drama at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts or the Victorian College of the Arts.

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		2007 Monthly VCE Achiever Winner November: Tom Ballard Tom Ballard is a student who is passionate about raising awareness of social issues and making positive changes through public speaking, film making and performing. Tom is an active member in his community and school. ‘I think everyone can help by doing something simple, like donating blood. I have been really lucky in life and it’s good to give something back’, Tom says. As School Captain, Tom is respected by his peers and teachers for his leadership at Brauer College. He has led the school in many debating and mooting championships as well as mentoring juniors in the school. Tom enjoys speaking about a range of topical issues such as confronting homophobia, cyber bullying and the convoluted language used by politicians. Despite the contentious nature of some of these topics Tom is aware that it is better ‘to look at positive angles on things because it is too easy to talk about negatives’. Tom won the Plain English Speaking Award for the state this year and was runner-up in the national finals held at ANU in Canberra. He is looking forward to going to England next May to compete in the international competition. As part of the local anti-homophobia activist group YUMCHA, Tom helped make a short promotional DVD that playfully depicted the gay/straight world in reverse. At the launch of the DVD they invited local teachers and principals to view the fi lm in the hope that it will be shown in schools to promote tolerance. The YUMCHA group is made up of both gay and straight young people (all under 25 years old) who are proactive about making a difference and promoting tolerance. Tom says, ‘I really admire young people who stand up for what they believe in’. The group are organising banners to display at underage events and have had parents with same-sex attracted children speak at their meetings. At the community level he has been involved with the Warrnambool Council and their youth programs. Tom says, ‘in Warrnambool we are really lucky because the Youth Council and Youth Department provide great opportunities for us to get involved – there is a lot to do if you are keen’. For instance, as part of FReeZA he helped organise Hard Wired, which is a large drug and alcohol free music event for the youth in the community. When asked how he got motivated and involved in public speaking and leadership in the community, Tom replied with mild reflection, ‘I guess it all started when I joined the junior council in primary school’. This led to SRC at high school level and then other opportunities came up that looked fun. ‘I have made a lot of good friends from this and I also get to meet important people, like the Victorian Governor who recently came to Warrnambool’. With Year 12 being a crucial academic year, Tom admits he has tried to cut back on the extracurricular activities but acknowledges that ‘if I really wanted to do something I can make time for it. It’s not a huge commitment nor is it a huge burden; and it can be a nice way to take a break from study’. Although Tom spends a lot of his spare time being involved in many school and community-based activities, he always has time for his main passions – acting, performing stand-up comedy, writing scripts, making fi lms and directing theatre productions. Tom was chosen to perform his Theatre Studies monologue in the 2007 VCE Season of Excellence – in both Top Class and Top Acts concerts. Last year he was also state finalist in the Triple J Raw Comedy competition, which he regards as his proudest achievement. ‘It was such a great night and a great gig’, he said with enthusiasm. For Tom, ‘performing is what I want to do. I don’t see it as a waste of time because I enjoy it’. Indeed his main aspiration for next year is to study drama at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts or the Victorian College of the Arts.
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