It was dream come true for Cyril Saji, the Year 12 graduate from Rostrevor College when he was selected for the prestigious Tennyson Medal dedicated for the state’s top Year 12 English student.
Cyril, who is the 118th winner of this medal has also become the first male student to grab the Tennyson Medal since 2010, adding more flavour to his victory.
The medal had been won by St Peter’s Girls students for six years in a row.
The Tennyson Medal was established by the former Governor of South Australia Lord Tennyson in 1901 aimed at encouraging the study of English Literature.
The award was presented by the Minister for Education John Gardner at the SACE merit ceremony held at the Government House on Tuesday.
“My dad and mum motivated me to read right from childhood and that’s how I got the passion for English language," Cyril told SBS Malalayam.
"The encouragement from my teachers has also helped me create an interest and passion to English.”
“It was my aim to grab this award and the aim created a motivation in me to improve my English writing skills.”
“However I never expected it would come across my way as this was been received exclusively by girls since 2010. I never thought I would get this opportunity.”
Cyril, who achieved four SACE merits and an ATAR of 99.65 is also an enthusiastic sportsperson.
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“I was the national gymnast for 12 years and am good at table tennis and badminton.”
His family, including his parents and three brothers are also excited about the 17-year-old’s victory.
“Cyril was aiming at it since he was in Year 8 and had put much effort to win the Tennyson Medal,” says his mum Sibi Saji.
“We used to travel a lot and after every journey, we used to make the kids write a travelogue in their perspective of what they have seen. My husband Saji whose involvement in reading with the children has also helped Cyril in his achievement I believe,” she adds.
Having graduated with flying colours from Year 12, Cyril has accepted separate offers to study medicine and law. However, he has chosen to defer medicine for a year and pursue his studies in law and economics from the University of Sydney.
“I love both law and medicine. So I will try law first and if I find it suitable to learn will go ahead with it or will pick medicine as my career,” says Cyril.
