Well, the PEF scholarship I received for 2020 helped me to pay some of school expenses like school fees, books, subject fees, stationery, uniform and I am happy to say that it paid for my year 12 jumper. I will feel proud to wear that jumper with my name written across my back – to remind me that I am in year 12 and in less than a year, I will complete high school. I feel super powerful because I do not have to worry about where I will find money to repair my laptop, to pay for the excursions and our final school camp that I will be able to attend. This makes me feel positive knowing that I can focus all my attention on learning.
Completing my HSC has been my dream since I arrived in Australia but it has been full of challenges for me. I have had problems trying to work out how I can complete assessment tasks when my English level is developing and I know that I need to beat this challenge. Sometimes I thought the only thing for me to do was give up and then I realised ‘No Carlos, don’t panic – we will find a way’. I sit down, I breathe and I think a lot about the way I will get better organised and achieve my goals in a way that I never expected I could find myself at the end of assessment tasks and can’t believe the situation I have successfully completed. The confidence this gives me in myself makes me know that I can do anything. I am thinking about many options for my studies after high school but the one area I know that I will be good at is Community Services. I have been in many situations where service and people in the community have helped my family and me when we did not have the money to pay so I feel like the best way for me to pay back is to become one of those community service people who help others.
I hope that this information helps you to understand more about me and how the PEF scholarship has impacted on my life.”
