06 September 2023
Liana Brkich is reconsidering her future career options after being named one of the state’s young geographers of the year.
The Ballajura Community College student won the Year 8 category in the Geographical Association of Western Australia (GAWA) 2023 Young Geographer of the Year.
Liana Brkich and her teacher Klara Gray.
Liana took the opportunity to learn more about her own backyard as part of her entry.
Her entry was a poster project about urbanisation in Australia, with a particular focus on Western Australia.
The project covered the history, causes, societal and environmental consequences of urbanisation, as well as current strategies used to reduce its impacts.
“What led to my choice of researching Perth for my project was that I was interested to see how my home had changed over the years and to research the background of my home.” Liana said.
“I have always wanted to be a forensic scientist, but I have taken an interest in geography, and I have considered possible jobs that I can look forward to, such as a conservationist or a marine analyst.”
Liana was presented with the award at the recent GAWA conference in Como.
Schools were limited to one student project per year group.
Liana’s teacher at Ballajura Community College, Klara Gray, said the project stood out.
“Liana’s project was well thought out, had creative elements in its design and all of her research was properly APA referenced, including in-text citations,” Ms Gray said.
“Liana is a very hard-working student, who always asks insightful questions which demonstrate open-mindedness and thorough analysis.”
This is the sixth year of GAWA’s Young Geographer of the Year competition.
Projects were themed around ‘The World at 8 Billion’, and what the world’s population reaching 8 billion people in November 2022 means to the planet.