Having quickly found his feet in the year 11 Geelong campus cohort in 2022, Diesel Moloney caught up with The Academy to talk about his first thoughts on life at The Academy.
The Academy: Hi Diesel. How are things? How’s term 1 been so far?
Diesel: First of all, thank you for having me, and I’m doing well, thanks. Pumped to be back face to face learning. Term 1 so far has been really enjoyable and I’m excited to see what’s to come
TA: Life at The Academy Geelong seems to be treating you pretty well. What have been some of the key differences between now and your old school that you’re enjoying the most?
D: Yeah, I certainly can’t complain. I would have to say the key difference between both schools is that I have found that everyone at The Academy wants to be here because of the brotherhood that we have built in such a short time, and of course we are doing what we love! Another difference I enjoy at The Academy would be the way we break the day up by having little breaks, like a fruit break or reading sessions straight after morning break. I find it really successful as it makes working through the day a lot more effective.
TA: We’ve seen a few photos of you getting involved in The Academy’s “End of Block Parties” – can you tell me what they’re about?
D: I do have to say I was going for best dress on the day and many would say I took it out! The End of Block Parties are an acknowledgement of the success we have had throughout the previous 4 weeks (which is one block). In each block party we decide on a theme at the start of it. The first theme we had was “beach” theme and the Geelong boys did our best to represent this theme.
TA:Year 11s begin the year in their literacy unit with a project task called “A Picture Tells 1000 Words”; can you explain what you had to do for that assessment and what effect that had on you and the group of students in your classroom?
D: “A Picture Tells 1000 Words” is probably the best project I have ever done in my schooling journey! In this project we get the chance to open up to our fellow classmates on things you may never have shared before. Because we all share things about ourselves, we definitely felt it was a safe place to be honest and vulnerable. The biggest thing I got out of this project was that you really don’t know what someone else has gone through in their life and I now know, after hearing from all the boys, that I have a lot to be grateful for in my life.
TA: Finally, as you look towards the year ahead, what are some of the things you’re most excited for at The Academy and life in general?
D: I have to say I’m excited for The Academy Cup, The Academy’s own inter-campus footy carnival. More than just playing footy on the day, I’m excited to meet the boys from the other campuses. I think it’s a really good way of meeting everyone and getting around each other. Outside the Academy I’m excited for my footy season ahead with being picked for the under 19’s NAB League Western Jets squad. As a sixteen year old in the squad, I’ll be putting a lot of work into that, pushing to be able to get a few games under my belt this year and seeing what comes from it.
TA: Thanks for chatting with us, Diesel.