By Luke Voogt
When St Joseph’s College student David Motorniak first received an ATAR of 99.55 – almost a week early – his mum thought he was joking.
“She didn’t want to tell my dad, because she thought it was a prank and she didn’t want to get his hopes up,” David told the Indy on Tuesday.
David first saw his score last Thursday when he was holidaying in Port Douglas with his brother.
“I was blown away,” he said.
He was one of 2000 students around the state to get their results early due to a technical glitch.
Happily for David, the official release of VCE results on Monday confirmed his ATAR – the third highest in Geelong.
A science and maths enthusiast, he hopes to get into medicine at Monash University.
“You’ve only really got one career,” he said.
“You want to do something … you’re passionate about where you can help people. Doctors help people in their lowest moments.”
He urged his fellow school leavers not to despair if they didn’t get the ATAR they expected.
“There are a lot of people feeling really lonely right now but there is always a way to get into the right course.”
Unlike David, Geelong College dux Mark Kovacev had to wait until Monday for his results, along with the majority of Victorian students.
The Manifold Heights student achieved an ATAR of 99.70, making his the highest score in the Geelong area (the Indy understands).
“It’s a bit surreal,” he said,
“You don’t really expect these things to happen. It was slightly higher than I thought I would get, so it was a good result.”
Mark admits part of his motivation was beating his older brother, who scored 98.8 seven years ago.
“I did that and went a bit higher,” he said.
Like David, Mark wants to study medicine at Monash. He said his grandparents, who are doctors, inspired him.
“I’ve seen doctors work quite a bit and the positive contributions they make to other people’s lives.”
“I’d like to be able to help people like that in the future.”
Mark showed his prowess on the sporting field as well as the classroom, winning the college’s fairest-and-best for soccer.
“I’d love to find a team at Monash,” he said.
