McNeill Cup Winner Sam Walsh

For people to be successful they need to have great guidance and encouragement. This is something that stands out when you enter life as a secondary student at St Joseph’s; the staff challenge and embrace hard working students wanting to get the best out of themselves. The students are very supportive of one another, which creates a great culture for people to try their best. To achieve a goal, internal drive is key. If you want to achieve something, I urge you to take opportunities that have been provided to you. This is an essential part of growing as a person and a student that could even mean challenging yourself in the classroom. I encourage all students, to move out of your comfort zone, try new things and embrace the College and I’m sure this will lead to you getting the best out of yourself. There are many opportunities at Joeys. St Joseph’s Football club and other football programs allowed me to gain many key relationships that helped me on my journey. At school, I always tried to make as many friendships as I could throughout my cohort and also with my teachers. If you show people that you have interest, it will create a great environment for them to help you get the best out of yourself. There will be many ups and downs but just take on the challenges and learn from the mistakes.

A highlight for me was my first Joeys school camp. It was the start of getting to know people outside a school environment and have some fun. It really stands out to me that on reflection it is so important to go out of your comfort zone. Meet and learn about other people because at this stage in your school life you still have another 6 years with your cohort. My view is, that if you’re connecting to other people, then you are accepting other people. At this College it is evident that we are all in this together.

Another great experience was the school sports days, not only are they great competition but once again it is another opportunity to be part of something that can create great memories. Being part of a House is something that you should take pride in, that’s why I’m excited for the College to be moving in the direction of growing the profile of the House groups because the competition is a great way to embrace the school.

One of my favourite moments from my time at Joeys was winning the Herald Sun shield in 2016, something we hadn’t done for 10 years. To be able to represent the the College in a grand final on the MCG came with great pride. The school has an amazing history in and outside of the classroom and anyone that comes through Joeys has the opportunity to make a positive impact on such a great school.

The time at the College comes and goes very quickly, so make sure you make the most of it because there are so many great memories to be created. Just have fun, be supportive and strive for the highest.

Sam Walsh