A YEAR of hard work has culminated in more than smiles for some.
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New England Girls’ School students Eliza White and Mikaela Ball have proved hard work pays off.
With an ATAR of 99.1, Eliza is looking forward to her gap year before she heads to university in 2019.
“I’m very relieved, I feel good that it’s over,” she said.
“I’m taking a bit of time off to earn a bit of money and hopefully in 2019 I’ll be going to university in Brisbane at QUT.
“My first preference is a double degree in business and creative industries, focusing on graphic design.”
Eliza’s proudest achievement was art, with a 98 out of 100.
She submitted a major project with lino prints of rural images from around the region.
Her mother’s family lives in Rockhampton and Eliza plans to live there for six months before travelling Europe with two of her close friends.
Story continues after honour roll
Classmate Mikaela Ball is just as impressive, placing top ten in the state for Design and Technology.
Taking a wide range of subjects her goal was to keep her career options open and she was the only person in her year to sit eight exams.
“It was a balancing act of working hard and living life to get the marks,” she said.
A sports buff, Mikaela spent most of her weekends at the hockey fields in between study breaks.
“It’s a bit weird, I haven’t really processed that it’s over,” she said.
“I have offers on the table from Sydney University, the University of Newcastle and Australian National University.”
And, she’s been head-hunted for the ANU Excellence Scheme for extension students.
“That’s in International Security and Law with a focus on International Politics,” Mikaela said.
“I’m also looking at Medicine at Sydney University and Biological Engineering at ANU.
“A lot of personal experience drove me to medicine, I love chemistry but my grandfather has been unwell – he had cancer for a long time.
“I went to a lot of doctors appointments with him and saw the amazing work his specialists did.
“It just sounded so interesting and out of this world.”
The main round of university offers will be released on December 21.