St John’s Celebrates Peter Doherty Awards Recognition

St John’s Anglican College Year 12 student Isuka Muthumuni together with Head of e-Learning and Innovation, Mrs Sharon Singh are both announced as 2021 recipients of the Peter Doherty Awards for excellence in STEM Education.

Selected from hundreds of nominations across the state, the Department of Education, recognise students and teachers in state and non-state schools who demonstrate an outstanding and innovative contribution to STEM education in Queensland.

St John’s Principal Mrs Maria McIvor said “we are very proud of both Isuka and Mrs Singh for their work in receiving this prestigious award. Their enthusiasm and contribution to STEM at St John’s and in the community is celebrated and recognised. As a College, we encourage intellectual curiosity and creativity in all students and inspire the pursuit of excellence in ways that define what a world-class future orientated education should be.”

As the recipient of the Outstanding Senior STEM award, Isuka has had a love for STEM from a young age. During his six years at St John’s Isuka has truly embraced the countless opportunities to develop his passion for STEM. Isuka said “one of my highlights is when I led the first Australian Space Design Competition team at St John’s in which our team was one of the top ten finalists in Australia. This allowed me to apply my knowledge of physics, mathematics and astronomy combined with my leadership qualities to a real-life, industry-simulated scenario. I also held the appointment as STEM Ambassador at St John’s for two years where I could encourage and promote the STEM culture to the younger students at the College.”  Isuka is looking forward to a career in healthcare blending his passion for science and maths with his interest in helping others.

At the beginning of 2020, Isuka was accepted in a field of 450 other students, into the Queensland University of Technology’s STEM High School Internship, an opportunity to expand his skill set beyond the classroom and explore future careers with like-minded peers.

Mrs Singh was awarded Outstanding Teacher of STEM for strategies implemented at St John’s to lift student performance in STEM and her ongoing contributions to the learning outcomes of both students and other staff.

As part of their award, both Mrs Singh and Isuka receive $5,000. Isuka is planning to donate a portion of his money to St John’s Science department to support other students in their STEM education and the remainder on his STEM related university fees.

While the official face to face awards ceremony with The Honourable Grace Grace MP, Minister for Education was rescheduled to a virtual event on Friday 10 September, St John’s honoured the award recipients at a College service in their Performing Arts Centre on Monday 13 September.