“I really enjoyed a lot of things about MSWA, but I especially loved the small classes and the opportunity for ‘one on ones’ with the teachers. They had genuine hearts for us students, and it was really impactful for us to see someone who consistently cared for us. Sometimes we couldn’t make it to school on time or had to get extra help with work– but they were there for us, even outside the hours of the 8am to 3pm school day. It took me a year to realise it, but I came to see that they really did care. In Year 9 I was really rebellious and disrespectful and had that ‘be nice to me and I’ll be nice to you’ attitude. I really was just selfish. But in Year 10, I came to understand how having a faith and believing in God meant that I needed to change how I was acting. It just wasn’t fair on people who actually cared for me! One day I started crying and said to one of my teachers “why do you care?” and they just replied, “I can see your potential, it’s just a matter of unlocking it.”
“I remember one day a Year 7 came up to me and talked to me about an issue she was facing; she just didn’t know what to do. I was really taken aback from that because she felt comfortable enough to come and talk to me– a Year 10– about something she’s struggling with. I think that by showing those younger than you that you actually do care and are there for them helps them feel seen. It made me so happy knowing that the teachers at MSWA had helped me to understand the person I could be. The care they show for all the students is so rare in today’s society.”
“I think my greatest achievement at MSWA was recognising that I was rebellious and changing. I didn’t get a certificate or award from that, but it’s something that I always get emotional about. When I look back, my attitude was ugly. Changing was an internal success that has changed the outcome of my life, and I don’t think it could have been done without the teachers and students that I met at MSWA. Any awards or achievements are just add-ons to something that MSWA helped me to change about myself.”
– Giovanna Figota, MSWA Class of 2015