Stephanie's Success Story

Performing in the VCE Season of Excellence Top Class Dance concert is a goal for many young dancers. Stephanie achieved that in 2009 when she auditioned and was chosen as one of the performers.

Stephanie has been dancing for 16 years so it is not surprising that she chose Dance as one of her VCE subjects when she was at Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School. She chose all her subjects because she loved them – Dance, English, Visual Communication and Design, Physical Education and Business Management.

These studies were also ones that Stephanie knew would prepare her for her chosen career as a myotherapist.

This year she is at the Southern School of Natural Therapies studying for a Bachelor of Health Science – Myotherapy. This is a four-year course where she is learning about the treatment and management of musculoskeletal pain involving extensive physical evaluation and an integrated approach to affected muscles, joints and nerves. Having suffered several injuries as a dancer herself, Stephanie became interested in helping others with musculoskeletal pain. Her ambition is to one day work with a ballet company, treating the dancers’ muscle, joint and nerve injuries.

Stephanie’s advice to future VCE students is clear. ‘You need to be organised or else you will struggle and get behind in your studies.’ She also found it useful to sit down each evening and go over all the notes made in class that day, just spending 20 minutes on each subject. This helped her to remember a lot of information which was important for SACs and exams.

Another tip is, ‘Have a hobby or an activity in your VCE years’. Stephanie found her ballet classes outside school were a great escape from formal study.