Krystal Pierce | Class of 2022
Can you share a memorable school moment?
A memorable moment that I cherish was our Class 12 camp to Sydney. That was awesome. After 12 years at the one school, the feeling of being so close and united as classmates was so special: in it together for the final exams, the muck up day, the graduation, the formal, finishing off our schooling lives and heading off into the world on our own paths, but together.
After leaving, what skill from school became more important than you expected?
All the analysing in English, or the art and drama classes that we did. Whether it was poetry or George Orwell, plays or Van Gogh. At that point in my life I found it interesting, and on paper it looked like annotating and reflecting, but what that was actually teaching me was the art of critical thinking, which I have used every single day since I left school. To be able to critically analyse conversations and people around us or media that we are consuming, is an invaluable skill.
What is something you remember from school that always makes you laugh?
Performing the Pitch Perfect Bellas final with a group of friends in the middle of Year 12. We would rehearse most mornings despite the stresses of HSC and then we performed in front of all our teachers and the whole high school at the 2022 Lip Sync competition.
Since leaving school what have you been up to?
I lived in England and taught kids in a summer camp, travelled around Europe then headed to Canada and worked in a ski resort as a liftie. Moved back to the shire for a year and saved up by supervising at the Bruns pub and then moved to Melbourne and into a sharehouse with girlfriends I met overseas. Last year I travelled to Peru and hiked around the Andes and made it to Machu Picchu. I started a professional editing and writing degree at RMIT, but dropped out. Toed and froed about joining the police force or studying psychology for what felt like a long time, but this year I am building up the courage and planning to commence studies in psychology mid year, with the intention to one day become a clinical psych.
What do you miss about Cape Byron?
I miss the opportunities for creative freedom and the ability to be experimental in the arts, like the music classes, singing in the bands in Year 9 and 10 or performing in drama, getting given a book to read and annotate for English classes or having the opportunity to draw and paint in art classes.
