Living proof your ATAR isn’t everything—Editorial
I was tasked with finding a reassuring story for nervous school students to read on the morning of ATAR release. Here’s how it went.
Speaking with Ethan Maclean gives the sensation of standing too close to a power station: an infectious energy buzzes in the air. Ironically, the restlessness that propelled him all the way from Swinburne University of Technology to Stanford University nearly saw Ethan disengage with the education system altogether.
His is a story of going his own way. It has its fair share of twists and turns, and it’s far from over. Ethan’s currently working as an Innovation Lead at a multinational design firm and has his sights set on an international career in academia. For students receiving their ATAR this morning, it’s a pertinent reminder that no matter the number, with a steely resolve, and the right people around you, anything is possible. It’s a story about the universal power of self-belief.
When Ethan was halfway through Year 11, his parents were advised that Ethan should leave school and find a job. Lucky for Ethan, he’s always been keen on seeing what happens when you tear up the rulebook. And he knew he was capable of more than that. Instead of quitting school, he started TAFE. Little did he know, this was to be a fateful decision that would take him all the way from Melbourne’s West to Stanford University.
“At the time, I thought ATAR was everything. I’m living proof it’s not”
At Swinburne, he found the pragmatic approach precisely what he needed. He flourished. He progressed from a bachelor degree in design to honours – a pressure cooker nine-month program undertaken in partnership with Swinburne’s Design Factory and Stanford University, at their California campus.
“It was full on, but I loved every minute of it,” Ethan says. The experience shaped his design methodology and established friendships and professional connections that have endured the years and vast spaces between.
When asked what gives him his insatiable drive, Ethan explains it’s partly unbridled energy – and the rest comes from those around him.
“The people close to me always encouraged me to aim one notch higher,” Ethan says.
He’s deeply thankful for his backers: the Swinburne lecturer who challenged him to lift his game, his girlfriend, who continues to push him, his mother, and his father: a man who forged his own, uneasy road to success.
“Dad went from a diploma to a master of laws; all while juggling a job and raising me on his own,” Ethan says. “He really set the bar extremely high. I’m just trying to get out of his shadow,” he says wryly.
Ethan’s path to success isn’t clichéd. Nor is it unique. Quite simply, it’s proof that a number doesn’t determine your ascent.
