Aside from the 2000 students who received their results early, the wait for almost 50,000 Year 12s was over last Monday, as the results were released state-wide.
Seventy-five students scored 40 or more out of a potential 50 in their VCE Italian exam, placing them in the top nine per cent in Victoria.
At the top of the state sits 18-year-old Greta Lazzarini, who scored a perfect 50.
While Greta’s surname indicates Italian origins, what may come as more of a surprise is that she’s not an Australian with Italian heritage, but rather an Italian exchange student.
Hailing from Rimini on the east coast of Italy, Greta has been living in the rural township of Echuca for around two years, studying at St Joseph’s College.
The young student came to Australia with a very basic knowledge of the English language, and spent her first few weeks Down Under in near silence due to the language barrier.
It was only by immersing herself in our culture and lingo, that Greta is more or less fluent in English just two years after her arrival.
“Going to school here really helped because I had to study in English and all of my classes were in English,” she says.
“If I wanted to survive and do well I had to learn the language.”
Not only did Greta do well, she thrived in a foreign country under an entirely unfamiliar education system.
While it may not seem like that much of a feat for a born and bred Italian to ace an exam in their mother tongue, Greta explains that it was more challenging than she expected.
“I decided to study Italian last year because it’s my first language and I thought it would be really easy,” she explains.
“But I actually had to study for it and it wasn’t as easy as I’d thought.”
In fact, Greta was terrified to undertake the subject’s mandatory oral exam, to the point where she cried both before and after it.
“After spending so long in Australia you start to lose all of your Italian, and it’s hard for me to talk in Italian now,” she says.
“I was worried about whether I’d expressed myself correctly and used the right words; plus, I had to study history for it, so I was really nervous.”
Combine that with the pressure of everyone expecting her to score 50, and the fact that the written exam was predominately in English, and Greta’s nerves were skyrocketing.
Fortunately, the stress of it all wasn’t enough to prevent Greta from pulling off the perfect score.
While completing Year 12 marks the end of an era for all students, its weight may be felt more by Greta, who will say goodbye to her Australian classmates and return home to Italy tomorrow.
“I’ve loved my time in Australia; it’s a beautiful country,” she reflects.
“I’ve stayed with two different families, but I chose to stay at the same school the entire time because I really liked it and my teachers were great.”
Upon her homecoming, Greta hopes to go to university and study chemical engineering.
This may not be the last we see of the ambitious student; Greta enjoyed her time in Australia so much so, that she’s even considering returning at a later date to study at one of our universities.
So then, we say, it’s not addio, it’s just a dopo.
We congratulate all of the 2016 VCE Italian High Achievers:
50
Lazzarini, Greta, St Joseph's College Echuca.
49
Hysa, Alessia, VSL - University/Brunswick/Collingwood.
48
Catanzariti, Amy, Genazzano F.C.J. College.
Enriques, Nicole, VSL Distance Education.
47
Lanci, Melissa, Grovedale College.
Venturo, Julian, St Bernard's College.
46
Bellia, Gisele, Our Lady of Mercy College.
Grossi, Amelia, VSL Distance Education.
Stents, Lorena, Genazzano F.C.J. College.
45
Albinelli, Emilia, VSL - Box Hill/Blackburn/Doncaster.
Brown, Giorgia, VSL Distance Education.
Cementon, Chiara, Melbourne Girls Grammar.
Clunies-Ross, Eliza, Melbourne Girls Grammar.
Greco, Ginevra, VSL Distance Education.
Mallamaci, Danae, VSL - Glen Waverley/Carwatha.
44
Dhillon, Balram, East Doncaster Secondary College.
Guzzardi, Stephanie, Christian Brothers' College St Kilda.
La Terra, Alessandra, VSL Distance Education.
Rinaldi, Adrian, VSL - Glen Waverley/Carwatha.
43
Bolton, Sacha, Glen Waverley Secondary College.
Grossi, Tessa, VSL - University/Brunswick/Collingwood.
Nannipieri, Nicla, VSL - University/Brunswick/Collingwood.
Pappalardo, Simona, VSL - Glen Waverley/Carwatha.
Perrona, Marcella, St Columba's College.
Taylor, Camille, Melbourne Girls Grammar.
Torelli, Greta, VSL Distance Education.
Walton, Lara, VSL Distance Education.
42
Calandra, Nicolas, St Bernard's College.
Doupe, Julia, VSL Distance Education.
Efthimiou, Georgia, Siena College.
Montessori, Xavier, VSL Distance Education.
Quattrocchi, Ludovica, Taylors Lakes Secondary College.
Urilli, Valentina, VSL - Glen Waverley/Carwatha.
Visentini, Siena, Star of the Sea College.
Walia, Anysha, East Doncaster Secondary College.
Zucchi, Finn, Northcote High School.
41
Chalmers, Lilian, Northcote High School.
Cochrane, Claire, VSL Distance Education.
Costantino, Nichole, East Doncaster Secondary College.
Fedi, Matilde, VSL Distance Education.
Fitzpatrick, Phoebe, Melbourne Girls Grammar.
Meirelles, Emilia, VSL Distance Education.
Miceli, Iolanda, Padua College.
Pappalardo, Briana, Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School.
Perrone, Carla, VSL - Glen Waverley/Carwatha.
Robinson, Rebecca, VSL Distance Education.
Rossi, Miranda, Santa Maria College.
Sfameni, Piera, VSL - University/Brunswick/Collingwood.
Vella, Jessica, Saint Ignatius College Geelong.
40
Bazzani Hockley, Ella, St Michael's Grammar School.
Birthisel, Emily, St Joseph's College Newtown.
Caldow, Michael, St Joseph's College Newtown.
Carmassi, Matteo, Emmaus College.
Coceski, Elisa, Greensborough Secondary College.
Di Dato, Gabriele, VSL Distance Education.
George, Jeremy, St Michael's Grammar School.
Lucarelli, Olivia, Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School.
Maglitto, Michael Jo, Christian Brothers' College St Kilda.
Natoli, Nadia, Genazzano F.C.J. College.
Polifroni, Clarissa, Marymede Catholic College.
Stinson, Zoe, Galen College.
Tavona, Alice, Keilor Downs College.
Valastro, Julia, St Columba's College.
* Twelve students did not consent to the publication of their results
