Hard work and perseverance pay off

With her sights set firmly on Veterinary Science, past student Jess Brierley (2019), was determined to make her dream a reality. And, after spending her senior years passionately pursing this pathway, her persistence has paid off.

Earlier this year, Jessica was offered a place in her course of choice at the University of Queensland (UQ). That makes Jessica one of just a handful of finishing highschool students in Australia to be accepted.

With an entry requirement of an OP1 or ATAR score of 99, only around 20-30 participants receive direct entry from highschool into Veterinary Science at UQ each year.

Knowing the competitive nature of the program, when completing the QTAC application, Jessica also applied for adjustment points to be added to her selection ranking.

It was a strategy she’d discussed during some career planning sessions at school and a step that turned her OP4 – a great achievement in itself – into the OP1 she needed to secure her spot.

And while she remained apprehensive about the end result – and convinced she’d be heading to Townsville to complete a similar course there – she now finds herself studying in world class facilities and learning from leading academics and researchers at UQ’s Gatton campus.

Flashback

In her final year at SCOTS PGC, Jessica was named a Prefect. Here we go back in time and share those reflections she shared in our ‘One Word’ series, filmed after participating in the College’s annual leadership retreat.