VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AWARDS

MASAYA SHAKANO

YEAR 12 RESILIENCE & INNOVATION AWARD

Masaya is a hard working and determined young man who was well respected by his peers and school staff alike. Masaya is tri-lingual after successfully completing his studies in the English and French language.

He celebrated and participated in many school events, always supporting and lending a helping hand wherever it was needed.

During the extended period of remote learning in 2020, Masaya showed great resilience and adaptability to the ever changing and challenging environment. He worked closely with the International Student Team to assist in supporting the International Students during the 2020 lockdown. This experience has given Masaya the unwavering confidence to move to Sydney and attend University to further develop and grow, in all aspects of his education and beyond.

Masaya was awarded the Year 12 Resilience and Innovation Award.

JOHN NGUYEN

YEAR 12 STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD

From the moment John started at Brighton Secondary College he embraced every opportunity that was presented to him and further pursued student leadership roles, with his primary intent being to represent the student body. He was successfully appointed as a student representative in College Council and Finance Committee.

John was one of our 2020 International Student Captains and a member of the Student Representative Council. During this time he helped lead and organised a number of key events in the College calendar including international week celebrations.

Throughout his time at our college, John demonstrated diverse and strong leadership qualities and applied the Brighton Secondary College school values every day.

John was awarded the Year 12 Student Leadership Award.

DILLON FAMILY

HOMESTAY FAMILY OF THE YEAR AWARD – GOVERNMENT SCHOOL

Congratulations to our long standing Homestay Dillon Family.

Our homestay families provide stability, ongoing support and a home away from home family for many of our International Students.

Homestay families are much valued members of our community.

Well-done to the Dillon Family.

ANDIA LATIFI MEYBODI

YEAR 12 GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP AWARD

Andia Latifi Meybodi is a global citizen who willingly shares her Middle Eastern background, and in particular her love of her home country Iran and Persian language and culture. In doing so, she is able to dispel many views that are held of people from Middle Eastern countries. She has made a significant difference to the school through her leadership, advocacy for respect and her multicultural values. In Year 11, Andia was the recipient of two Victorian Global Learning awards, one for Community Engagement and another for Global Citizenship. Participating in the Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program enabled Andia, as one of Brighton Secondary College’s international leaders, to incorporate charitable ideas within the school. It also allowed her to participate in charity events outside of school, such as feeding the homeless and raising money for the Great Barrier Reef.

WAI TSUN (IAN) LAM

YEAR 12 STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD

Wai Tsun (Ian) Lam has worked hard as a student leader to make an impact at his school. During his time at Brighton Secondary College, Ian joined the International Student Committee and was appointed to the prestigious position of International Liaison in 2018 where he welcomed all new students, planned and promoted the annual International Week program and organised the Year 12 students for their final Graduation Assembly. Ian developed initiatives such as the Clean and Green anti-litter campaign, an international band and a food donation drive for the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre. Ian surprised the school by preparing a unique Year 12 farewell video and accompanying speech to inspire and motivate students to follow their dreams and pursue careers that they are passionate about.

ZHENG (JENNY) TANG & SAM LIU

HOMESTAY FAMILY OF THE YEAR AWARD – GOVERNMENT SCHOOL

Zheng (Jenny) Tang and Sam Liu are exemplary homestay parents. Jenny and Sam have welcomed international students at Brighton Secondary College into their home for 16 years. Jenny and Sam volunteer at school events and activities including graduation ceremonies and greet new students at the airport. They organise social events for the school community and attend parent/teacher briefings. Jenny and Sam understand the challenges faced by new arrivals to Victoria and happily provide advice and support to parents who have recently joined the school community by providing transport, translation of documents, help with finding housing and obtaining driver’s licences. Jenny and Sam have built a strong reputation at the school and past students regularly comment about how happy they were to have lived with them.

ANDIA LATIFI MEYBODI

YEAR 11 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP AWARDS

Andia Latifi Meybodi is a passionate advocate for global citizenship and women’s rights. She has freely shared her culture, language and the history of her Iranian homeland with her school community to help local students learn about the world. 

She has gathered food for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, helped write and direct the school movie production and organised a mural at Brighton Secondary College which hsa provided the opportunity for the whole school community to come together.

She is also a student mentor where she helps younger students to improve their academic skills.

Andia has worked hard to encourage others to put aside cultural and language barriers in order to come together and better understand global issues facing all of us.

MINH THAO NHU (SUE) DUONG

YEAR 12 ARTS ACHIEVEMENT & STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Minh Thao Nhu (Sue) Duong has used every spare moment of her Brighton Secondary College study experience to its best advantage. Sue has demonstrated a consistent commitment to her academic studies, particularly in visual arts and design where she achieves full marks across all assessment pieces. Sue’s work to create an eco-friendly stapler showed a sound understanding of the design process.

Her work has also been excepted for the VCE Top Design Season of Excellence 2016 and will be included in the next edition of the Visual Communication Textbook.

Outside of her academic success, Sue has taken every opportunity to be an active contributor to her community. As International Student Captain, Sue organised the International Choir, International Week and the Year 12 Final Assembly, along with collecting books, toys and gifts for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Christmas Appeal. In addition, Sue contributed to the FareShare Kitchen and raised funds for the Salvation Army.

Sue is an outstanding and generous student who has made a considerable difference to her school and her communities.

BUN HAGIWARA

YEAR 12 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AWARD

Bun Hagiwara has made a long-lasting impact at Brighton Secondary College. Bun is not only committed to his academic studies but he demonstrates a genuine desire to get involved in his local community.

Bun is an accomplished taiko drummer impressing his school community with solo performances and at multicultural events where his natural style and rhythm always pull a crowd. In 2014, as a member of an orchestra, Bun played the taiko drum at the Victorian State Schools’ Spectacular to great applause.

Bun is also a member of the Melbourne Weiqi Go Club which meets to play the traditional Japanese and Chinese board game Go. His skill for the game won him a First and Third place at the Golden Aussie Go Tournaments in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Along with his passion to share his Japanese culture, Bun is also a member of his school’s International Student Committee raising funds and donations for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

Bun is kind, considerate and an outstanding ambassador for his school.