Nicholas Radoll, a current OTEN student received a TAFE NSW Gili Student Achievement Award at the 20th TAFE NSW Gili Awards which were held at the Opera House on Thursday 8 July. Nicholas is a descendent of the Anaiwan people of northern NSW and his family is active in the ACT Aboriginal community.
Nicholas is an outstanding young Aboriginal man who has already made an amazing and impressive educational journey with TAFE. He came to OTEN in March 2009 with a dream of becoming a pilot. He knew that to reach his goal he had to gain the UAI/ATAR with a high level of Mathematics and English together with Physics in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) Certificate III course. His research had found OTEN offered all this in HSC studies however he was required to complete the Certificate II in General and Vocational Education (CGVE) course first.
He was very disappointed to find that because he was underage he was initially unable to enrol in the CGVE course, even though he had submitted an immaculate course application. The Outreach Unit of OTEN, who specialise in youth programs, then accepted him into their Access to Work and Training certificate 1 course (9071) which he completed in 4 months. Nicholas then enrolled in the CGVE course in October 2009 as soon as he turned 15. Once again he demonstrated he was a gifted student with teachers from all subject areas commenting on his fine academic skills and his consistent effort that saw him completing this course well below the usual timeframe. He completed the 800 hours of the CGVE course in March 2010 in less than 6 months!
In 2010 he has been able to enrol in the HSC studies Certificate III course at the impressive age of 15. He has already completed one HSC subject and received 100 for his first Physics assessment and 95 for his first Advanced English assessment.
It is unusual for a student as young as Nicholas to demonstrate such excellence in effort and achievement and commitment to a study and vocational pathway. He has high personal expectations and has certainly lived up to them in his time as a distance student of OTEN. His parents proudly look forward to him being the first person in his family to complete the HSC.
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