Year 12 student Luke Eddy has studied Indonesian throughout all six years of secondary school and continues his love of the language by continuing to study it at Year 12 level.

As part of his passion for the language, Luke recently entered an Indonesian writing competition, organised through the Victorian Indonesian Language Teachers Association (VILTA), where he was required to write a 300-word application essay in Indonesian, and attend a 15-minute interview using only the Indonesian language. The essay theme was ‘strengthening the relationship between Indonesian language students in Australia and Indonesia,’ where students were required to use personal experiences, creativity, or real-life examples to develop their ideas. For this essay Luke drew on his experience during his 2023 Indonesian immersion trip, as part of his language studies at Damascus College.

Luke has recently been advised that he has been successful in being selected as one of five Victorian recipients of the scholarship, that will see him travel to Canberra on 16-18 August to visit the Indonesian Embassy and celebrate Indonesian Independence Day on August 17th, with flights and accommodation included.

Luke said that it is an honour to be selected.

“There will be participants from all corners of the state. I am excited to represent Ballarat and my school, while experiencing Indonesian Independence Day events firsthand,” he said.

“This is an amazing opportunity for me to learn both language and cultural topics from other Indonesian speakers, as well as learn more about things such as embassy life from staff.”

Whilst in Canberra, as part of the Independence Day celebrations at the Indonesian Embassy, Luke will attend the flag raising ceremony, participate in a cultural student forum, meet Indonesian families and embassy staff, where he will represent Ballarat, and Damascus College.

“I am looking forward to engaging with cultural activities such as traditional music like gamelan or angklung. I will also be documenting my experience to potentially be published on the VILTA blog following the event,” said Luke.

“I will be travelling with four other Victorian students and two staff members.”

“I am excited to represent my school whilst meeting new and interesting Indonesian speakers from across Australia. I think that building connections with others is one of the best parts of learning a language.”

After Year 12 Luke hopes to continue his love of learning the Indonesian language, either through further study at university or during his personal time. Next year, Luke plans on taking a gap year to work and travel, whilst finding a suitable career path.