The VCE pivot that paid off for Angus

Expert tips to help you do your best in this year’s VCE, plus meet the students doing Year 12 differently.

Aspiring fashion designer Angus Cassidy knew within weeks of starting his VCE in 2023 that it wasn’t the right fit. So, he tailored his own path.

The Mazenod College student quickly switched into the VCE Vocational Major, which allowed him to indulge his twin passions of fashion and engineering.

“I just realised that where I wanted to end up, the VCE wasn’t exactly necessary,” recalls Cassidy, now 19.

Award winner Angus Cassidy was praised by judges for his academic achievement, leadership and “remarkable resilience”.

“I wanted to get some experience in the industry and get a bit of a head start on everyone else.“

Cassidy embarked on a Certificate II in apparel, fashion and textiles at Holmesglen Institute as part of his studies, as well as a Cert II in engineering based at his school.

And the pivot paid off.

After graduating last year, he was acknowledged in the 2024 VCE Premier’s Awards as one of just seven Outstanding VCE Vocational Major Students.

Loading

Judges praised his academic achievement, leadership and “remarkable resilience”.

He mastered the arts of sewing and design, and gained practical industry experience through a work placement with Fitzroy fashion designer MM Sohn.

In engineering, he focused on metal work, undertaking his work placement at Mazenod.

“There’s a lot of aspects of metal work and engineering that go into fashion design,” he says.

“What I most enjoy in the fashion space is pattern making, which is like all the pieces that go together to make a piece of clothing, all the panels and stuff.

VCE graduate Angus Cassidy brought fashion and design to the fore in his VCE studies.

“So, designing them and making sure it fits and calculating all the measurements.“

Cassidy also became an unofficial VCE VM ambassador, mentoring peers and promoting the program through school publications and information sessions.

In recognition of his efforts, the school awarded him Student of the Year in the 2023 Mazenod College VCE VM Outstanding Achievement Awards.

Now continuing his fashion studies at TAFE, he’s exploring how to combine his engineering background with a passion for sustainable garment design.

And he’s even returned to Mazenod – this time, not as a student, but as part of the team.

“I’m a teacher’s assistant in the woodworking rooms,” Cassidy says. “I go in one day a week and help out with the students and do some cleaning and maintenance.

“I really enjoy it. My advice to other students is to pick things that you’re interested in. Give everything a go. If you don’t like it, you can always switch it up, but you’ll regret it if there’s
something you love and you don’t try to pursue it.

“I was very passionate about the things I was interested in, and quite driven to do well in the areas that I enjoyed.”

Most Viewed in National

Loading