Written by Journalist, Angela Norval - Bundaberg Today, Friday May 27, 2022
Hamza Abid is a young man who has been through some incredible experiences in his life and now, as a year 12 student at St Luke’s Anglican School, he continues to never waste an opportunity that comes his way.
Hamza has continued to enjoy the welcoming and kind spirit of those in the Bundaberg community and especially at St Luke’s since transitioning from living in Canada to life in Australia three years ago.
“The biggest change for me was probably the move from a more urban city in Canada to a regional area here, and I think that that close sense of community is absolutely fantastic,” he said.
“If you live here, you can definitely feel you belong because of how familiar and involved you can be in the community.
“Wherever I am, I appreciate that education is one of the gateways to success and my parents have always focused on the importance of education. It has been one of the values I have been brought up with.
“More importantly, learning in any form makes a person more equipped with different skills, which gives you the opportunity to make informed decisions about your life.”
It is this emphasis on education that has helped Hamza be announced as this year’s academic captain, something he believes means cultivating the academic life of the school and in his role, he has striven towards providing opportunities for students.
Examples of this include helping organise a student-led, subject information session for the incoming year 11s for the senior subjects.
He also helped put together study groups for some of the subjects this year and is currently organising an inter-house debating competition, something which he has always been interested and involved in and something that would be new for St Luke’s.
“Generally, I’ve felt that the senior leadership positions under the guidance of our amazing principal Mr Merritt and head of Senior School Ms Deer have always been able to take on their occupants in the sense that each year, we are able to leave our own individual mark.
“Leaders of the past years are absolutely an inspiration to me and I hope to be the same for the younger students, like my brother.
“I’ve always respected how much teachers care about empowering students through their school work and other activities at St Luke’s.
“The teachers are passionate about what they’re teaching and overall make it a very engaging and enjoyable school environment.
“I’m also really thankful for all the extracurricular activities that the school provides.”
For this reason, Hamza has taken part in inter-school teams cross country events for a couple of years and was part of St Luke’s rowing team in year 10.
Also, last year he took the first step in one of his major goals, learning to play a musical instrument with the alto saxophone.
“I sometimes thought that it was too late for this, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“I want to encourage everyone who has a dream to follow it and know that anything is possible.
“Another area that I am thoroughly enjoying is as the Youth Member for the Burnett electorate in the Queensland Youth Parliament (QYP).
“Following politics and current affairs has always been an interest of mine and joining QYP has definitely allowed me to follow that passion.
“I am on the Environment, Renewables, Energy and Tourism (ERET) portfolio and we are working on a Bill to tackle plastic pollution in Queensland by promoting and incentivising the use of substitutes.
“The QYP is a great way for youth to make their voice heard.”
Given his wealth of activities, you would be forgiven for wondering where Hamza finds the time, but focus is definitely something he is not lacking in all aspects of his life, including his future career direction in medicine.
“Given the diversity of fields in medicine, I’m giving myself the liberty to explore all the different options and specialties during my clinical placements at university, if I am fortunate enough to get admission into a medical program.
“However, what I do love about medicine as a whole is the fact that there are so many aspects to the job.
“There’s the scientific aspect, where you get to learn about one of the most interesting and complex systems in the world [the human body].
“As a doctor, you get to analyse data, research and diagnose, all of which do interest me.
“There’s also the community aspect, where you interact with patients, and an educational aspect, where you are constantly learning from others in the field and passing that knowledge along.
“The level of emphasis that St Luke’s places on service has really encouraged me to serve the community, which is what any medical professional does.
“So, I’ve taken part in the Dorcas Soup Kitchen, Relay for Life and volunteered as a barista at St Luke’s Turtle Cafe for a couple years.
“Ultimately, I’ve always believed that year 12 isn’t the only time when you can decide what you want your life to look like.
“But it is definitely an important time and one of those years that could define your future.
“So, I don’t think there should be any pressure to know exactly what you want to do in year 12.
“Still, the senior year can set anyone up for success by allowing them to demonstrate their hard work, effort and organisation towards any goal.”
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