5 minute read
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Lilli Cowan
Lilly with her sister Mae (Yr11 He) and father Andy at Timbertop in 2020.
Lilli Cowan (He’21) was visiting her grandparents in Benalla from her home in Darwin in early 2017 when they went on a day hike up Mount Timbertop. Lilli had already heard about the Timbertop campus in the mountain’s foothills from an older friend, Emma Rogers (EM’14), who was accepted to GGS on a Yalari scholarship. ‘I can remember her coming back every holiday and she would tell us the most amazing stories’, recalled Lilli. The day hike reinvigorated Lilli’s interest, and after doing some research on her grandparents’ computer, ‘I just put the idea out there for Mum and Dad. They were 100 per cent supportive of me going to GGS but they said I would have to get a scholarship to go. So I put my mind to it.’
Lilli’s parents, Michelle and Andy, were both teachers, and they could see that schooling in the Northern Territory would be limiting for Lilli. ‘She was a child who needed something more’, explained Michelle. ‘We didn’t drive her interest in GGS. She is always open to new opportunities and takes things into her own hands to learn more.’ This sense of possibility carried through to the first day of Timbertop. ‘I was on cloud nine! It was the most incredible opportunity we had ever had’, recalled Michelle. ‘Looking back, I didn’t give much thought to the fact that I was completely moving away’, said Lilli. ‘I didn’t have that feeling of separation from Mum and Dad because I knew they wanted me to be there. I didn’t really struggle with homesickness. My mindset throughout the year was not to waste my time worrying about what I couldn’t control.’
Fast forward 12 months, and Lilli completed the Timbertop year as the recipient of both the John Furneaux Mann Memorial Prize for excellence, endeavour and determination in the Timbertop programme, and the Harriet Nixon Prize. ‘I remember picking her up at the end of the year, and she did not stop talking for three days with excitement’, recalled Michelle. ‘It is a compromise to send your child away for that experience, but when you hear their stories and see that spark, it is all worthwhile.’ For Lilli, completing the marathon was her proudest achievement. ‘Halfway through Term 1, I said to myself that I wouldn’t walk on any more of the runs. And I didn’t! Finishing the marathon with everyone else was such a special feeling.’
Lilli entered the Hermitage House in Year 10 as a recipient of the Hermitage Scholarship,
and over the next three years threw herself into school life with the vigour that she had already displayed at Timbertop. She rowed and played soccer, becoming captain of soccer in 2021, achieved outstanding academic results, and was elected house captain in Year 12. Studying the International Baccalaureate, participating in the Lorne 160, and undertaking so many extracurricular pursuits are opportunities that Lilli knows she was lucky to receive. But it was the people she met during her four years at GGS that Lilli nominates as the highlight of her schooldays. ‘There are many different perspectives and people at GGS, and I feel like I have met so many people from different walks of life. That’s made me more aware and more knowledgeable. I think it makes you a lot more tolerant, understanding, and flexible. It lays the foundation for particularly good life skills.’ Michelle agrees that GGS has equipped Lilli with the ability to relate to and converse with a broad range of people, imbuing her with levels of confidence that she would not have achieved if she had stayed in Darwin. ‘Even if she doesn’t tap into those connections, it has expanded her mindset and given her a broad perspective.’
Now at Monash, Lilli is studying for a dual Bachelor of Laws with Honours and Bachelor of Global Studies. ‘I did law just for the skills, but now that I have started it, I am really enjoying it. Global Studies is just incredible. I love it, it’s so good!’ She has applied for a two-week immersion program in India and, after university, hopes to do an overseas internship, or work in remote communities in Australia. Being pushed outside her comfort zone will be familiar territory for Lilli. ‘The Timbertop year really built my confidence. At the time you think it’s hard, but it puts everything into perspective; after that, you look back and think, why am I making a big deal out of this? It is not a big deal. Look what I have achieved before. Over the years, I did get more confident in myself, and I felt more secure in my decisions. The support from the staff made me realise that if I put my mind to it, I could do it.’ Both Michelle and Lilli are enormously grateful that a Hermitage Scholarship changed Lilli’s life. ‘I think that sense of generosity is also something that has really settled into Lilli, and she would return the favour in a flash. That’s been really lovely to see’, said Michelle. ‘I would not have been able to go to GGS without their support and would not have been able to meet so many incredible people and do so many awesome things while I was there’, reflected Lilli. ‘I hope they know how important and impactful their donation is in helping many kids. I am so thankful.’
Right: Lilli being interviewed alongside Margie Gillett (Cordner, Clyde '71) at the Biddlecombe Society Luncheon
