3 minute read
WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE
Sophie Ritchie-Crichton
Sophie Ritchie-Crichton (Fr’21) vividly remembers the moment she received her scholarship offer to attend Geelong Grammar School. “I watched the mailman come up the footpath, and I ran outside and opened the letter: ‘Congratulations, you have been successful in the scholarship process!’ Mum and I just cried and cried.”
A Geelong Grammar School education had been Sophie’s dream for a long time. Her mother, Julie Ritchie, works as a nurse in the Kennedy Health Centre at Corio, and Sophie had used the school pool and the Handbury Centre facilities from about the age of six, giving her the opportunity to observe the students. She liked what she saw, and Julie was keen to encourage her daughter to become part of a school where she had seen for herself how passionate the staff are about getting the most out of their students. They were both disappointed when Sophie’s application for a Year 9 scholarship was unsuccessful, but with quiet determination, Sophie resolved to try again: “There are a million different ways to get into something or to succeed. If one method doesn’t work, don’t be down. If you fail, always try again.” Even though Sophie is from Geelong, coming to GGS was a big change from the Catholic girls’ school that she had previously attended. “I feel like I have grown as a person because of Grammar, the teachers, the kids and the facilities — just the whole experience. I feel like you become more of a family at Grammar; you are with the students 12 hours a day, five days a week. I’ve also learnt to communicate better with boys and understand them. I have become more of a diverse, accepting and understanding person than if I had stayed at a girls’ school.”
Julie agrees that coming to GGS has widened Sophie’s world. “She is no longer a Geelong girl; she now has a world outlook. She won’t be frightened to work overseas or travel for her career. It has opened her eyes to the fact that people come from different cultures and different families. I think Grammar has made her more flexible and compassionate.”
Travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic prevented Sophie meeting her scholarship donors, Jeff Peck (Ge’42) and Silver Harris, before Jeff passed away in June 2021. Like Sophie, Jeff was a Geelong local who was a scholarship recipient and a day student. Eight decades before Sophie, Jeff also enjoyed a broad exposure to many types of people from around Australia and the world at GGS, an experience that was of great benefit to him when he lived and worked overseas in later life, and which motivated his wish to establish a day boarding scholarship. “From the bottom of my heart, words can never describe how grateful I am”, said Julie. “They have given so much to both Sophie and me.”
After school, Sophie hopes to follow her mum’s example and enter the healthcare industry, and she knows she will take many of the skills she learned at Geelong Grammar School with her. “I will never forget the great friends, the support network and especially the teachers who helped get me through Year 11 and 12 with COVID 19. I definitely learnt how to ask for help and I think this is a vital lesson in life. It’s ok to be unique; I have really learnt to embrace myself and not just follow other people. I will take that away with me and, hopefully, I can change someone else’s life just as Jeff and Silver have changed mine.”
Silver Harris and Jeff Peck
