Ali is a talented actor and scriptwriter. He is in year 9. Despite having great talent in the dramatic arts, Ali was lacking focus at school and getting into trouble regularly. Ali was consistently late to class and rarely handed in homework.
Ali was given the opportunity to participate in the Western Chances ACMI project over his school holidays. During this time, Ali was early for each session and instead of completing one script for homework, he completed 17 in one week! Ali made 2 professional and very moving autobiographical short films.
Ali has since been awarded a Western Chances scholarship for dramatic art. Ali is using his scholarship money to attend an acting studio over the school holidays. Ali’s family would not be able to afford this workshop without the assistance from Western Chances.
Ali has now taken on a leadership role at school. He is President of the Amnesty International group. Ali’s attitude to school in general has improved dramatically. Ali has been given a chance to develop a talent, and love of his, and as a result, is shining.
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Daniel is a talented visual artist. He is in year 7 and comes from a family of 9. Daniel’s mother struggles to provide financially for her children and Daniel often comes to school without appropriate clothing.
Daniel participated in the Western Chances ACMI project in which he demonstrated his creative talent and maturity beyond his years. For Daniel, this project provided a chance for him to develop his creative skills using resources which he would not usually have access to.
Daniel has also been awarded a Western Chances scholarship for visual art and music. He is spending his scholarship money on art supplies and a guitar. Daniel’s performance in many subjects at school has improved since becoming involved with Western Chances. He is a proud advocate of Western Chances and often speaks proudly of his scholarship.
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Violet is an eighteen year old from the Western Suburbs who never dreamed that she would one day live and learn in Australia.
Emigrating from Vietnam in 1995 without any knowledge of English, the challenges were vast. Primary school was the first step to learning a new language and through the support of teachers and friends she was fluent by the time she entered high school.
Violet’s abilities and determination throughout her high school years have already given her the opportunity to be a part of the Accelerated Learning Program and the Melbourne Access Program run by the University of Melbourne.
Western Chances has embraced the opportunity to support Violet in her continuing quest of academic excellence by donating a computer to help with her studies. “It allowed me the freedom to computer access whenever I need it and this created a great improvement and ease in completing schoolwork” Violet said.
With the support of a Western Chances, who have also provided extra English tuition, Violet is now on her way to obtaining her goal of a 95+ ENTER score.
Violet’s teacher says “she sets high goals in life and strives very hard to achieve them. The scholarship from Western Chances has enabled her to get closer to her dreams than ever before.”
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