"Ehm, actually, I'll tell you a little secret," said Jerry Zhang in the beginning of his interview with SBS Indonesian.
Jerry who graduated from North Sydney Boys High School last year then went on with how he actually didn't intend to choose Indonesian language when he was in Year 7. "I think I put Japanese my first preference because all of my friends were doing it," he admits.
But the reality that the Japanese class was filled-up forced Jerry to go with his second preference - the Indonesian class - which he described as 'a small class, no one's really studying it'.
Jeremy Zhang got the highest mark for two categories of Indonesian language in the 2021 HSC exam. Source: KJRI Sydney
Luckily, Jerry has one person who changed his perception of the Indonesian class.
This young man of Chinese descent without Indonesian background whatsoever admitted that his teacher Kathy Coady plays an important role in growing his interest in learning Indonesian, especially through films, songs and lollies.
"I actually quite enjoyed Indonesian because the way that Ms Coady plans a lesson is always engaging," he said.
Jerry Zhang won the highest score in the 2021 HSC (Higher School Certificate) exam in NSW for the Indonesian language subject. He achieved this highest score in not only one, but two categories, namely Indonesian Continuers and Indonesia Extension. He received two of the Lottie Maramis award from the Indonesian Consulate General in Sydney and the Australia Indonesia Association (AIA) last Friday night.
