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Student Achievers - Joel Paschke

Posted on December 31, 2019

My name is Joel Paschke. I am 16 years old and I am currently living in Mount Barker, South Australia, but I have spent most of my life (about 12 years in total) in a country called Vanuatu in the South Pacific. My family consists of my parents, my older brother and myself.

I am an extremely energetic individual and my interests include playing sports such as Soccer, Tennis, Running and Ultimate Frisbee. I also enjoy spending time with friends, reading novels and watching movies.

My experience at OAC

Along with my elder brother, I was home-schooled by my mother until the age of 11, at which point I enrolled in Open Access College for Year 6.

I joined OAC so that I could be a part of the Australian curriculum and eventually go on to achieve my SACE in year 11 and 12.

OAC has allowed me to participate in a high standard of schooling not only while living in Vanuatu, but also at times when I have been travelling around different areas of Australia.

All of my teachers at OAC have always been extremely helpful and also very accommodating with any problems that have arisen as I’ve made my way through school. One problem which was recurring for me in Vanuatu was slow and unreliable internet (especially after Cyclone Pam devastated Port Vila last year – internet and power were down for a time then). This sometimes made doing my school work a lot harder, but even through all that, my teachers have always been understanding.

And today

At this moment in time I don’t have any definite post-school plans for my life. But my current challenge is trying to make it through Stage 1 and 2, to achieve my SACE with satisfactory results.