By Tate Papworth
A year 8 Caroline Chisholm Catholic College student with an aptitude for maths has claimed finalist status in a statewide award.
Jude was nominated for an In2science Award after taking part in the mentoring program.
In2science is run by RMIT, La Trobe, Melbourne and Monash universities and Swinburne Institute of Technology for students undertaking a STEM course.
Vinh Pham, from RMIT, spent 10 weeks at the Braybrook college working with students. At the end of his placement, Vinh and the college maths teacher nominated Jude as an “outstanding student mentee” for his engagement, effort and outcomes.
Jude said it was a nice surprise to find out he’d been nominated.
“I didn’t actually know we could get an award from this, so it was a surprise for me,” he said.
Jude and his family attended the award ceremony at Melbourne Museum last week. He said it was a positive experience even though he didn’t take out the top gong.
“Vinh taught me a lot about algebra and linear graphs,” he said. “He was a really good teacher. He knew what he was doing and was very supportive.”
While Vinh helped Jude improve his skills, his strong interest in maths helped his progress.
“Maths and English are my two favourite subjects,” Jude said.
“I like the relationship between numbers and problem solving.”
Details: in2science.org.au
