At the start of each year BalCC Staff are invited to become mentors to the Year 12 students. The mentoring program has been running at the College for a number of years now and sees Year 12 students matched with a staff member. What this looks like will depend on what the student’s needs may be and the catch ups may be weekly or fortnightly chats. Mentoring is an opportunity to encourage, to pray with and for the student, but also offer practical advice such as helping with time management or organisational skills.

This year our PA to the Heads of School, Accounts and First Aid Officer, Jenny MacRae mentored Year 12 student, Mikayla.  Here Jenny shares about her mentoring experience: “What a privilege it has been to mentor one of the 2021 Year 12 students. We quickly settled into a routine of meeting once a week, when COVID-19 lockdowns allowed, to chat about her subjects and whether she felt she was on track or not with regards to the various tasks she had to complete, and how she was scheduling her work and study to keep on top of things. It was wonderful to hear of the dreams and aspirations Mikayla had for her future, but equally important to hear her talk through the struggles and the challenges she perceived she would need to overcome.

It was certainly my aim to be a listening ear and an encourager, but I must admit I was inspired more than once by the strength and resilience I saw in this amazing young person. I look forward to hearing in the future just how she has managed to progress the steps to achieving her career and personal goals. May I encourage each one of you to consider being a mentor. I believe, like me, you will certainly get more out of it than you thought you would.”



During her Year 12 Graduation speech Mikayla thanked Jenny for her support and encouragement during the year. Mikayla aims to do a Bachelor of Medical Imaging at either Deakin University or RMIT or study Psychological Science at Federation Uni. She is also considering a gap year to work in 2022 and hopes to get in some travel.