Former Student Interview Tom Cronin
Tom Cronin was Head Boy at Foundation Christian College in 2019 and is currently the College's highest achieving ATAR Student having achieved an ATAR of 97.7. We hope you enjoy reading this interview of Tom reflecting upon his time at FCC.
How long were you a student at FCC?
I was at Foundation for 14 years from Kindergarten to Year 12.
While you were at school, what were your goals and plans for your life/career?
Being in a Christian School, academic success is a byproduct of the gifts that I have been blessed with by God. The primary focus is always to put God first both in my personal and professional life.
The career goal throughout my high school years was to always endeavour to do the best I could so I would gain entry into Medicine.
What are you doing, career-wise with your life now?
I am now in my second year of studying Medicine.
What gave you inspiration to choose your career path?
My Grandfather's injuries – they have impacted his life significantly. I decided I would like to be able to contribute to bettering society by helping improve the well-being of individuals who are in need.
Medicine is a huge field and there is much to be learnt about the body and it is a field of study I am continually amazed by and fascinated in.
What aspects of your schooling at FCC supported your plans to getting you on the path to Medicine?
The school environment and Teachers and community feel of the college.
I was provided with subjects, especially in Senior School, that I was fascinated in and gave me a great foundation for my tertiary studies.
Emphasis on the Christian Education and keeping in mind that it is ultimately the school environment, teachers and families not only contributed to heavily supporting me and encouraging me to continue working hard to get the ATAR I needed for entry to my degree, but also helped me to grow as a person.
Do you have any advice for current FCC students?
Put God first, seek Him in all things
Make the most of your time you have at FCC, draw on the wisdom and knowledge of your teachers and your peers as your time at school really sets you up for the years ahead.
Ensure that you use this time as a means of exploring things you enjoy or are challenged with and not just focus on one area of life, putting your best effort into everything you do such that you grow in character, and resilience.
Tell me about the experiences/highlights at FCC that stand out for you.
The comraderie and sportsmanship shown at sports carnival days.
The school camps that we were able to go on during our high school years – getting to know each other outside of the classroom and engaging with other people that we otherwise may not have associated with.
Performing Arts Nights and seeing the efforts of all students contribute to well-rounded school productions. This will only improve in future with the recent appointment of Mr Capener to the College.
Now that you have been away from FCC for a couple of years, what aspects of your time here have stayed with you?
The encouragement and support shown by staff teachers and friends during my time at FCC has encouraged me to continue to dedicate myself to doing things that I love and to continue to invest in growing my relationship with Jesus Christ.
In your opinion, have those aspects provided you with sufficient grounding for life after school? In what way/how?
Yes - The grounding I had a FCC helps me to think critically about concepts that we are taught in our tertiary studies. This has then encouraged me to further research and develop evidence-based perspective on issues that would otherwise be controversial particularly in the Medical field. Thankfully, these problem-solving skills have been further developed at university level as well.
What do you think you got out of attending FCC that you couldn’t have gotten somewhere else?
Certainly in the Mandurah region, a rigorous and thorough Christian education, as well as a solid, decent, excellent grounding for my education.
Thank you Tom!
I’m thankful to teachers for the support they have given me and encouraging me to go above and beyond what I thought I was capable of doing.
— Tom Cronin
