5 minute read
A GGS JOURNEY
Marlley, Tahlia and Cassie
Tahlia See
Cassie with the Girls' 2nd Netball team
For Marlley McNamara (Yr12 Ga), Tahlia See (Yr12 Ga) and Cassie Perris (Yr12 Ga), completing their GGS journey together in 2022 represents the next stage in a friendship that started in Year 7. In 2017, they came from different parts of Australia to GGS on Yalari scholarships, all three isolated from family and friends but quickly forming a close bond living together in the Middle School boarding house. ‘We stuck with people we knew at first, and because we had already met for an orientation we started hanging out’, explained Tahlia.
Yalari is a not-for-profit organisation that provides Indigenous children from regional and remote communities across Australia the opportunity to attend a leading boarding school for their secondary education. ‘It began with my mum slapping an application form down on the table in front of me!’ remembered Marlley. ‘She always aspired for me to go to boarding school.’ While preferences can be expressed, applicants do not get to choose the school they will attend. Ending up at Australia’s largest co-educational boarding school was something that Tahlia considers a piece of luck. ‘Because boarding is a massive focus at Geelong Grammar, all the teachers and staff have boarding students in mind. It wasn’t until I compared that to other schools where boarding is an add-on that I realised how cool Geelong Grammar is. Everything is built around the boarders. You are spending more time with people, so you get to build better relationships because you’re not going home every afternoon.’
Inevitably, all three girls were homesick at times and especially at Timbertop without the ability for video calls, but seeing family was something
positive to look forward to at the end of every term. The House community at Corio and being around everyone all the time is something that Cassie will miss. ‘It is great that we were all put together in Garnett – it means a lot to all of us to be together.’ Being boarders has also fostered independence and self-reliance, which all three girls have valued. ‘It’s going to make it easier to adapt to the outside world’, said Tahlia. ‘When you’re at home you rely on your parents to cook and clean and do the laundry for you, but being here has given me the freedom to look after myself. I am grateful for that opportunity’.
Marlley and Tahlia also had the unusual experience of being followed by a camera crew for some of their time at Corio. They accepted the invitation to take part in the SBS documentary Off Country, filmed during 2020 and therefore coinciding with a school year that was already unlike any other due to the COVID pandemic. They both enjoyed participating in the program, which followed the journey of seven Indigenous students at Geelong Grammar. ‘I look back on it fondly’, said Marlley. ‘It was very strange to have people you don’t normally communicate with discuss matters about your private life. I felt like such a celebrity! It was nice to be able to share my experiences. I got used to the camera and it was easy to be authentic.’ Tahlia was keen to be involved, even though when she first agreed to participate, she didn’t realise how big it was going to be. ‘It was strange when people whose names I didn’t even know knew my name! Everyone was very encouraging, and I really appreciated the support.’
Now that they are at the end of their Geelong Grammar School journey, there are many highlights to look back on. For Cassie and Tahlia, seeing snow for the first time at Timbertop was an amazing moment. Marlley loved the opportunity to become involved with the performing arts at Corio and ‘to be part of a community interested in the same stuff as me’. Netball for Cassie and badminton for Tahlia have been highlights. And they’ll miss the food! Having adult mentors on tap, and tutors just down the corridor, has been appreciated. For Tahlia, her science teacher Andy Beauchamp was ‘really fun, on the ball and a very clear teacher’; Cassie fondly remembers Charlie Scudamore ‘who helped us quite a bit – he was amazing’; and Marlley has appreciated the presence of their Head of House, Amanda Scott. ‘She is caring and understanding and very supportive, no matter what.’
For all three young women, the future is bright. They are confident their friendship will endure, and they may even continue living together while at university. Tahlia is looking forward to taking a gap year and spending some time back in Darwin with friends and family, having lived away from home for so long. Cassie wants to stay in Victoria, and start uni straight away. She hopes to fulfill a long-held dream to become a teacher. Marlley plans to study a Bachelor of Arts, perhaps majoring in History or English, but may do a teaching degree yet. All of them would have no hesitation in recommending GGS to other Indigenous kids. ‘It opens up the world to you, which is so much bigger than your small town’, said Tahlia. ‘It is important to see what the world has to offer.’
And as for what they would say to their younger selves, coming to GGS in Year 7? ‘Stay the course, things are going to change all around you but focus on your end goal and you will get there’, said Tahlia. Marlley admits to being ‘unsure if I would get a word in if I talked to her!’ but would advise ‘putting in effort, taking advantage of all opportunities, and being calm’. Cassie agrees: ‘Just back yourself. Have more confidence in yourself. Everything will work out in the end.’
