Eudunda High School’s Katrina Manguera has proven she’s in a class of her own, after receiving an ATAR of 99.6 on Monday – the highest across the region.
Katrina was the third person in her family to receive dux at Eudunda High School, as her two older brothers, Lhord and Paul, also received the honour when they did Year 12.
Katrina said she and her brothers came from “good stock”, and a lot of studying, repetition and hard work was the key to her success.
“I’m quite organised by nature, so I’m lucky I had that to my advantage,” she said.
“I live in Nuriootpa, so I would tend to stay behind at school on most nights and study in the library prior to going home, because I knew I would get tired on the way home and not want to study afterwards.
“I read a lot, did lots of homework and made sure I studied the same things over and over.”
Katrina said she understood her strengths when it came to her school work, so she knew what she needed to focus on.
“I’m not very good when it comes to exams, so I knew I had to work extra hard on my assignments to bump up my grade,” she said.
“Prior to exams, I took exam papers from previous years and that really helped me.”
Katrina said she was surprised with her result.
“I was aiming high because I needed a high result to get into my course, but I didn’t expect to get as high as I did,” she said.
“I hope to study Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Adelaide next year and eventually do a doctorate.
“I had my doubts because you never know how SACE works and how they grade stuff, but I was so excited when I saw the number.”
Katrina said her family were supportive throughout her schooling.
“My parents, Renato and Connie, brothers and I migrated to Australia from the Philippines for a better life,” she said.
“Education is really important to my parents and they sacrificed a lot so that my brothers and I could receive great opportunities.
“We all moved straight to Eudunda from the Philippines but when I was in Year 8, my family moved to Nuriootpa.
“I loved Eudunda High School so much that I begged my parents to let me stay there and they were so supportive of the decision.
“I have a strong connection with that school and I couldn’t have asked for a better education.”
