MANY students might feel high school has been building up to the final moment of hearing their result. But, the real journey starts after they leave school.
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Former Horsham College student Cobie McQueen finished at the top of her class.
She is now a pharmacist and owner of Horsham’s Priceline Pharmacy. She said she never thought 10 years ago she would be where she is today.
“When I was in high school I wanted to do something different every week, but it wasn’t until year nine where I found an interest in science,” she said.
Ms McQueen received an offer to study pharmacy, but she did not know it was the right path until she walked into the university. Afterwards, she completed an internship at a Geelong hospital.
“I thought I would be in Geelong longer but the opportunity to come home came sooner than I expected,” she said. “Then the chance to manage came and then I became a partner in the business.
“It’s crazy how things led to another and it’s proof to go out of your comfort zone and take opportunities.”
Meanwhile, Horsham’s Josh Koenig was unsure of his future when he finished school in 2004. Today, he is Uniting Wimmera’s acting executive officer and a Horsham Rural City councillor.
“I knew I didn’t want to leave Horsham straight away. I could have taken year 12 a bit more seriously – it was more of a social year,” he said.
After school, Mr Koenig was given a chance to complete a traineeship at Horsham Special School, and when “one thing led to another”, he completed more study and got a job at Uniting.
“Sometimes I sit back and think, ‘How did I do this?’. It wasn’t aspiration, but if people put in the hard work, they get positive results,” he said.
Mr Koenig reminded students that it was okay to discover their path later in life.
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