Being able to unwind is an important skill for anyone tackling VCE. For Year 12 student, Kiara McEwen, reading and listening to music allow her to leave her tension behind.
Outside of school, Kiara is passionate about DrillDance. Like a brilliant combination of dance and sport, the organisation’s logo says it all: ‘in time in teams’.
DrillDance began as ‘marching girls’ after the Second World War—reaching its greatest popularity in the 1960s—and has now evolved into a series of much more complex and brilliantly costumed displays of team precision. Some routines include props—such as an umbrella or fan—and guys are starting to get involved too.
www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-11/marching-girls-australia-history-sport-drill-dance/100891096
“I just love it,” she says. “Even when we are training really hard for a major competition or event, it gives me such joy and focus and is a great balance for the rest of my life.
“Six of us recently created a routine using the theme music from ‘Six the Musical’.”
Kiara began the sport in the under-8s and now competes in the senior class. She attended the National Championships during the Easter holidays and her team gained fourth place.
In July they start training for November competitions.
Even when she’s not at DrillDance, music provides a constant background to Kiara’s life, including homework. John Farnham is her ‘number one’, but she listens to all kinds of music from rap to pop.
She finds studying in groups a brilliant way to work—because, as she says, “I can’t do quiet.”
Cue cards and practice questions are Kiara’s go-to when she sits down to study, and the resources offered by Edrolo have been super useful for her.
At the start of Year 11 Kiara remembers feeling somewhat overwhelmed navigating the many classrooms at BSSC—she had missed Step-Up because her little brother had just been born.
Since this more challenging beginning, she’s enjoying the college and says she always recommends it to others.
“Actually, most days, I just love to come here.”
From the culture of openness and tolerance to the academic resources, to programs such as the Student Ambassador Program and Student Leadership Teams—Kiara appreciates the many opportunities on offer at BSSC.
“The SRCs at my primary school and 7-10 college were great, but so few people were able to be involved at any one time.”
In contrast she chooses the word, ‘spontaneous’ to describe senior due to the many options students can see and grab.
“It’s also a calm and organised place—so if you pivot it’s no big deal.
“I think I’ve changed for the better since coming to BSSC,” Kiara says. “I used to be much more introverted, but I feel I can express my personality here and I’ve become much more open to getting to know new people.”
Her favourite subjects are History and Legal Studies.
Kiara had been keen on a career in the law since in Year 9, however, history has become increasingly important to her—and it captured her attention for a very personal reason.
As she was growing up, Kiara had a wonderful and close relationship with her grandfather. She spent a lot of time with him—including listening to music he loved and fossicking through junk shops together.
As she got older, the stories he told about his life experiences increasingly captured her imagination.
In Year 11, Modern History built a much more complete context around the personal history her grandfather had shared with her.
“He died in 2021 and I miss him so much,” she says sadly. “He always had the confidence to keep trying—to keep having his life, even when he was very unwell.
“He taught me to never give up—no matter what was happening. He always insisted you can push through even the hardest things.”
She names her family as being “such a comfort” and loves being able to talk with them about shared memories of her grandfather.
Kiara is certain he would be very unimpressed by the state of the world at the moment—especially the pointlessness of wars which, Kiara says, “are started by people behaving like children having a massive toddler tantrum—with devastating consequences.
“He would have some filthy words to say about all this.”
Other issues such as Climate Change, with the bushfires, cyclones and rising seas it is bringing, and social issues such as domestic violence, are things she insists must not be put on the backburner.
“With domestic violence, which I’ve experienced first-hand, the physical abuse can be seen but there’s a whole lot of emotional abuse that’s hidden.”
Kiara and her family have been through some truly serious and difficult experiences that still take their toll at times—yet, through her grandfather, she has a remarkable example to hold on to.
Kiara also has brilliant friends whose support has meant—and means—the world to her.
When she looks back over the last six years or so, she’d love to go back and say this to her 12-year-old self:
“Don’t panic. Make back-up plans and speak about the issues that have deeply affected you. Don’t be silent about domestic violence—it’s not a good coping mechanism and only benefits the
