Dean of Studies | Mr Mason Hellyer

Success is what you make of it

With the Tokyo Olympics underway, we are witness to many examples of success. From the obvious podium finishes to an athlete’s personal best performance, success has many forms. Recent Terrace Old Boy, Tom Neil’s interview following his semi-final swim in the 200m freestyle encapsulates the above quote. When asked how he felt after missing out on the final by 0.03 of a second, he stated that a personal best in his heat and the experience of a semi-final at his first Olympics was a success in his mind.

There are many quotes that I have come across that attempt to define success. Many refer to attaining a physical object, a gold medal, a championship ring, money. Some refer to the attainment of intangibles such as power or influence. These definitions all refer to external rewards as measures of success. External rewards are very powerful as they provide a focus or an outcome goal to strive towards. Tuesday’s Academic Awards Assembly was a wonderful opportunity to recognise the achievements of our students. The awardees had decided to commit to their studies, follow up on their commitment to hard work, and be rewarded with an academic medal.

The Academic Award is an external recognition of success. However, the majority of the boys awarded have been motivated by the internal desire to succeed. I see these award winners as a success. Our Diligence and Improvement award winners are also a success. Our 2020 median ATAR 91.65 student who was offered the University course of his choice is a success.

At Terrace, we intentionally challenge every student to succeed, or more specifically, to be the best he can be. As Tom Neill demonstrated, success is not always reaching the top. Success is striving to improve and learn how to improve from every experience along the way. I am sure that we will see Tom on a podium.

Remember, as 2018 College Dux Jacob Montaner said at the 2019 Scholars Assembly, motivation leads to hard work, and hard work leads to success.

Our Year 12 students are entering a busy time of the term with their final internal assessment tasks completed in the next week. Now is the time where consistent effort will pay off during this peak in the assessment cycle.

All the best.