Boarder story: Lily Kennedy-Head, Musical Theatre student

Lily Kennedy-Head is a Year 11 student at The McDonald College and has been a boarder since she was in Year 7. Lily specialises in Musical Theatre and dreams of one day lighting up the stage on London’s West End.

She first heard about the College through a family friend and former student. She was excited by the idea of being able to pursue her passion for performing arts while maintaining her academics.

She tells us, “Year 7 is always a scary year for anyone, especially when you’re moving away from home. But from the very beginning, I was welcomed with open arms by older students, ‘newbies’ like me and the teachers.

“Learning how to live and get on with other people my age has been a great experience, especially as I am an only child. I’ve made some amazing friendships.”

On the academic front, Lily has discovered a passion for Ancient History and loves learning “how we evolved to where we are now.” But she says her favourite teacher is Ms Walker, who teaches English. “She is an incredible teacher but also a beautiful soul who is always there for us. Earlier in the year, we went to the United States to immerse ourselves in the performing arts world there. Ms Walker came with us, and her warmth and humour made us feel at ease in an unfamiliar environment.”

When asked what she loves about Musical Theatre, Lily replied, “It’s just great that you get to do all the things you love – singing, dancing, and acting – all at once. We are always refining our skills – whether that is technique, taking stage direction, self-tape work, or any combination of these things. The Musical Theatre stream is like one big family. We all have shared goals; we work hard as a team to get there and completely support each other. I also love that I feel like I can truly be myself.”

“I would recommend to anyone considering The McDonald College to just do it. It really is a very unique school. I don’t know that there is anywhere else like it … where you can do performing arts while keeping up a full academic program. Plus, as a boarder, you will be guaranteed to make friends from all walks of life with different interests and stories. It is a real community.”