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Avi Chandna: Hard work and perseverance pays dividends in final years of schooling

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What was your proudest moment?

Getting into both Firsts teams for tennis and football. I got to play the sports I loved with my friends and it fostered camaraderie. This made the victories even better and the losses easier to overcome. In terms of a consistent good memory, the sporting life was it.

Did you ever imagine that you would be this successful?

No, not at all! Back in 2021 during the COVID lockdown, I had a lot of free time and I wanted to try something new. I was never a big football supporter, but during that time, I would go out with a couple of friends and kick a football around. Eventually, I fell in love with the sport and set a goal to get into the Firsts football team at school. So for the next two years, I put in a lot of time and effort to improve my skills. In Year 11 (2022), I tried out for the Firsts but didn’t get in. But I went back and put even more effort in, and finally in Year 12 (2023), I got in!

“I didn’t start in the best teams, but I worked really hard to progress and my St Andrew’s Cathedral School coaches supported me across that.”

How did you feel when you made the team?

I felt a lot of relief. It felt so good to know that I got in after putting in so much effort.

You mentioned that you didn’t start at the top for football or tennis, or even academic subjects, but you worked your way up. What would you attribute your successes to?

Perseverance, hard work and goal setting played a crucial role in my success. Having a goal academically and in sports helped me stay focused and gave me something to look forward to if I achieved it. And in these last two years, I really understood the importance of these factors and found that they applied to so many other areas of my life, not just at school.

What are your future plans?

I’m thinking of doing a Bachelor of Law and Computer Science at the University of Sydney, most probably focusing on corporate law. While I’m still working out what I want to do ultimately, both these areas give me a strong basis for a variety of careers.