BY Engelbert Schmidl
SIXTEEN students stood before their assembled peers, some nervous, a few totally at ease.
The assembly hall at Brimbank College in St Albans was packed last Wednesday with students, teachers and proud parents for the Western Chances scholarship presentation.
Terry Bracks, wife of Premier Steve Bracks, presented the recipients with their award certificates.
“I live in the western suburbs. I see the potential these kids have and with a little hand-up they can achieve great things,” she said.
Mrs Bracks is chairwoman of Western Chances, an organisation dedicated to helping students in the West.
Angela Gotzamanis, 15, was among the scholarship recipients.
“I achieved personal satisfaction,” she said about receiving the award.
The Year 10 student said the scholarships helped western suburbs kids gain some recognition for their achievements.
Angela wants to be an actress and her friend said she was already known as “the legend” for her dramatic exploits.
Marko Kmecko, 13, was a little less expressive than Angela about his scholarship win.
“I didn’t think I’d actually get it but I did,” said Marko, a six-footer who plays representative basketball for Keilor Thunder.
Marko’s classmate, Peter Corica, also 13, was self-effacing about his success. He looked forward to using his scholarship for learning about multimedia production.
Helen Worladge, executive officer of Western Chances, said the scholarships were merit-based and gave kids with talent and enthusiasm the chance to explore their passions, whether they were in the arts, science or sport.
She said Western Chances was Mrs Bracks’ brainchild and that more than 300 scholarships and $500,000 had been disbursed to students in the western suburbs in the past three years.
The following Brimbank Secondary College students received a Western Chances Scholarship: Chol Barr, Jardie-Ann Brigham, Peter Corica, Ashley Debrincat, Jessy Foley, Reece Foley, Mia Ford, Keegan Fry, Angela Gotzamanis, Marko Kmecko, Crystal Kormendy, Anna Nicolaou, Eric Roussac, Dominic Sheppard, Caroline Tuivanuavou and Jessica Vacha.
