things were confusing then, and I’m very grateful that there were so many people looking out for me. I was amazed by the number of students that were part of the Diverse Learning program at Eddies. I had just come from a school where I was the only accelerated student, so it was wonderful to find that there were lots of students doing the same thing as me, several of whom were in my classes. Not only that, but all of my classmates were extremely welcoming and accepting, and I quickly felt like I belonged to my Year 11 cohort. Having enrolled in Eddies I then had to pick my subjects. I had decided I wanted to become a medical physics researcher. To help achieve this goal, I studied Physics, Chemistry, Specialist Maths, and Specialist Maths Methods at Eddies, as well as English, Music and RE. I also studied a Chinese H-Course through ANU, something that was suggested by Mrs Ramke. Although I’ve got a long way to go, I very thankful to Eddies for setting this up. My classes were so special because of the amazing teachers that I had, who stretched my mind in a way that I needed. The assignments I received were quite challenging, and there were more than a few stressful moments. That's not to say it wasn't fun though: I fondly remember Friday afternoon Kahoots with Ms Arora, Mr Foskett's attempts to stop our class from forming “one big group”, and taking the “egg and bacon roll” with Mr Mickleburgh. Over my two years at Eddies, I was also involved in the Eddies-Clare's combined band, under our wonderful conductor Mr B. Despite being a very small band, with a very oversized percussion section, we worked well as a group and had a lot of fun performing at various concerts. Joining the band was simply the natural progression of my love of music and performing. I’ll probably never touch one again in my life, but now I know how to properly play a triangle. I've been learning piano since I was four, and, to the delight of Mrs Thomas, I am a very big classical music fan. I have a pas-
One of Ben’s passions is playing the piano
sion for learning and performing works by mostly forgotten composers so that people can hear them for the first time. Lots of my tastes sometimes seem a bit old fashioned and in Mr Burke's English class, we each completed a survey that identified our tastes. Apparently, I have the tastes of a 60-year-old, upper-class man, which is probably quite true. It also doesn't help that I have a rather British accent. In the future, I plan to study a double degree - Science and Medical Science - at ANU, to become a medical physics researcher. When I was at Eddies, I completed work experience at Canberra Hospital, in the Medical Physics department. Medical Physics is exactly what it sounds like: the use of physics for medical treatment. Often this involves radiotherapy and cancer treatment. During the few days that I was there, I was fascinated by the technology being used, and most importantly, the research. As a researcher, you get to develop new technologies and medicines, which may someday save someone's life. Going forward, I hope to be involved in some of the cutting-edge medical research that takes place both in Canberra and around the world. PAGE 15
