Erin's Success Story

When Erin was choosing her VCE program she was unsure about what she wanted to do in the future. Her strategy was to keep her options open by taking on a variety of studies that encompassed maths, LOTE, science and humanities.

With guidance from her parents, she chose subjects that she was good at or subjects that she would need to get into a specific course. ‘I chose Chemistry in case I wanted to get into a science degree, maths because I am quite strong in that area and Japanese because I really enjoy studying a different language.’

In Year 12, as a VCE student at RMIT TAFE, Erin also took on extension study in Japanese at Monash University. ‘I had already completed Units 3 and 4 of Japanese in Year 11 and I wanted to further my language skills and not lose what I had learnt. Doing the extension study was also beneficial because it gave me a higher increment on my ENTER.’

Erin’s enthusiasm for learning Japanese came about after she spent a year in Tokyo as an exchange student during her VCE years. She also studied VCE Japanese Units 1 and 2 by correspondence.

Having now completed her VCE, Erin is considering two university offers – Monash University (Bachelor of Arts) and Australian National University (Bachelor of Asia Pacific Studies) in Canberra.

However, before she continues on her academic journey she has decided to take the year off to work on a cattle ranch in the Northern Territory. ‘It is such a unique experience and I am really looking forward to it.’