Chris Hendrickson
Chris Hendrickson - Class of 2013
Year you started attending PCACS?
I started in 2008 with Mrs Doyle (I believe, from memory) as my home room teacher.
Why did you (or your parents) choose this School for you to attend?
We were moving to the area and it was the best choice for me as far as a high school in our local area. Our initial interview with the foundation Principal Mr Martin went well and I felt the School would be a good fit for me and would broaden my future horizons (which it did, A LOT, in hindsight).
What were your favourite classes?
I enjoyed Italian and Economics the most, although I liked Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as well.
What was your greatest achievement at PCACS?
My student exchange to Italy and pilgrimage to the Philippines with Rev. Lord are my top two personal development achievements. I was a proud cast member in the first two school productions; Into the Woods and Aladdin too. Sporting wise, I held the Champion Boy swimming title for six consecutive years at PCACS and (outside school) representing the state and country for baseball on numerous occasions.
What did you think of the campus and extracurricular activities?
While I was there, PCACS was quite small, so extracurricular activities were minimal, but I enjoyed concert band and the performance opportunities as well as participating in the musicals. The interschool sports like AFL, rugby and cricket were great. I loved having the Italian coffee shop and working that every now and then, I love my coffee still.
How did the School prepare you for your career?
In ways I couldn’t imagine at the time but the school prepared me for my career. Study habits were not my forté but I still picked up the knowledge which became very handy at University. My exposure to other languages and cultures drove my itchy feet/ travel bug, and I’ve since travelled all over the world. Although, my exposure to Economics in Year 11 drove my academic and professional career choices.
What are your favourite memories from PCACS?
Since graduating from PCACS, I have not slowed down, travelling and working all over the world and furthering my education to achieve a Masters degree. Two months after graduating, I went to Taipei (Taiwan) for a year on exchange studying Mandarin Chinese with the help of Ms Angel, Italian teacher (an infinite amount of gratitude to her). After returning, I commenced at UWA doing a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Economics and Chinese. During my undergrad I kept myself busy with more than just coursework; represented the student body on the student guild and a few faculty societies, lived and worked in Greece as as part of a Leadership Development Programme sponsored by Mannkal Economic Education Foundation and even interned at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA.
After graduating in 2016 I was offered, and accepted, a place in the Masters of Applied Finance Programme at UWA. While studying my Masters, I worked as an economist at a small managed investment fund based at the university, eventually becoming the head economist there. Currently, I’m living at working in Canada; over the winter I worked at a ski resort for a bit of fun as a bartender and snowboard instructor. With the recent global COVID-19 pandemic, my travel and work plans have been cancelled but despite this, I am remaining in Canada working in agriculture until things settle down.
