Stawell Year 12 student Crystal Summers continues to show determination | The Graduation Project

The captain has had similar experiences as her peers - two bouts of remote learning, connectivity issues and digging deep to find the motivation to continue.

Miss Summers' personality includes determination and discipline, something that shines through when she has a football in hand.

The 18-year-old has used her drive and motivation for sport to help keep her balanced and in check with what has been an unsteady year for students.

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Miss Summers said despite being nervous about exams, she was just looking forward to the year finishing.

"I just want to get it done now," she said. "This second time I've just lost motivation. It's gone on for much longer and now it looks like we probably won't ever return to a normal school setting.

"Exams are daunting, you always have the feeling like you haven't done enough and that you won't remember everything."

The first time of remote learning suited Miss Summers. She found she had a lot more time on her hands.

"I was able to keep up with the work and get everything done at my pace and found I had a lot of free time on my hands," she said.

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"At home, there wasn't as many distractions as there are at school so everything could be done faster.

"I used my spare time to study and spend time outdoors. It was really refreshing."

Included in Miss Summers classes is a VET class in beauty. She said learning the topics remotely was difficult.

"There are some practical things we have to do at home," she said.

"My parents are working so it's difficult to get things done when we have class - I don't think my younger brother would be happy to be a participant.

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"Besides those few things, everything else has gone along ok. Teachers are really helpful across all my classes and trying their best."

Miss Summers is still undecided about what her future would look like - a few options are on the table.

A player in the NAB league Rebels for AFLW, Miss Summers said she still has one more year of junior football left after age brackets were moved due to the cancellation of the 2020 season.

"After the year we've had I wouldn't mind just having a year off, working and having a break from studying," she said.

"If I take a year off studying it will allow me to concentrate on football and really put my energy and focus into that. Training has been a nice distraction from school work when I've needed a break.

"I run nearly every day and work on my strength and skills. Someone also mentioned the Marcus Oldham College in Geelong to me and focus on equine management. I'm still unsure. I guess I'll just wait and see."

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