Grammar Gazette - Issue 1, 2024

COMMON GO A LS ALUMNAE MENTORS SHARE LESSONS AND ENTHUSIASM S ometimes the best help comes in the form of someone who has walked in your shoes. Someone who has felt the pressure, excitement, challenge, and satisfaction of making it through the final years of secondary education—while also balancing co curricular commitments and personal wellbeing—at Girls Grammar. This is why the Grammar Women— Grammar Girls Mentoring Program was created, to assist girls with not only navigating their senior studies, but also planning for life after school. The program pairs recently graduated Grammar Women with Year 11 students, and gives them the opportunity to meet four times a year to discuss their academic, personal or other goals. Last year, Kaiyu Su (12R) and Hope Sneddon (2016) were paired due to their shared interest in mathematics and science. Kaiyu is studying Chemistry, Physics, Mathematical Methods and Specialist Mathematics, while Hope is a Boeing Linux software engineer beginning an Applied Astrophysics PhD with the University of New South Wales this year. ‘I was looking for a mentor who took similar subjects during their time at Girls Grammar, or had similar academic interests,’ Kaiyu said. ‘I was curious to hear first-hand about what pathways are on offer to me once I graduate. I was also looking for a mentor who was open minded and willing to take chances, rather than let discomfort dictate their decisions, as this is an ability I believe is important to instil in myself.’

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Hope said she signed up for the program after realising there was ‘an abundance of prescriptive knowledge and processes designed to help young people navigate their career paths’, but few mentors available to help young people through the ‘philosophical and emotional challenges that came with this, especially as an upcoming woman in STEM’. ‘For me, part of my upbringing— fostered by both my family and my learnings at BGGS—was to recognise the importance of supporting those behind me in overcoming the same challenges I also faced,’ Hope said. ‘Participating in these mentoring initiatives is just as beneficial for me as I hope it is for the students: we both take away a refreshed sense of perspective on where we are, the challenges we collectively face as intelligent women, and where we want to go.’

‘WE BOTH TAKE AWAY A REFRESHED SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE ON WHERE WE ARE, THE CHALLENGES WE COLLECTIVELY FACE AS INTELLIGENT WOMEN, AND WHERE WE WANT TO GO.’ —HOPE SNEDDON (2016)

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GAZETTE • ISSUE 1, 2024 ISSUE 1, 2024

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL