Celebrating success on Presentation Night
A night of completion, congratulations and celebrations was enjoyed by more than 200 people at The Hub in Technology Park on October 23.
The 2025 Presentation Night focused on the achievements of students in the WA Universities’ Foundation Program, WA Certificate of Education, Certificate IV in University Access Program and Diploma of Commerce as students of 29 nationalities celebrated the end of their studies.
Domestic student Ilya Perkins was the top WA Certificate of Education student, while Eve Lynn Tan, who is from Malaysia, was the Dux of the WA Universities’ Foundation Program. Thomas Ang, also from Malaysia, was the recipient of the Principal’s Commendation.
It was a big night for Canning College’s Malaysian students with Sherry Wong taking out the award for top Diploma of Commerce student. Lukyan Olegovitch, from the United States, won the Certificate IV in University Access Program award.
But the night was not just about academic winners with Certificates of Appreciation handed to 14 students for their contributions to the Canning College experience. Additionally, Regine Hong, from Singapore, won the Canning College Community Service Award.
Diploma of Commerce student Aayuska Manandhar, who is from Nepal, and WA Universities’ Foundation Program student Mehran Mandegari, from Iran, spoke glowingly of their Canning College experiences during valedictory speeches.
There were great speeches from Principal Leila Bothams, Member for Cannington Ron Sao MLA, Anna Bunn from Curtin University, and two excellent valedictory speeches.
Students were also celebrating success through artistic means. Three musical performances and a ballet routine performed by WA Academy of Performing Arts-bound student Faith Hiew received rapturous applause.
Principal Leila Bothams acknowledged the significance of the occasion, highlighting the special individual and collective qualities of the 2025 student group.
She thanked parents, guardians and supporters for their assistance in helping students through the challenges of the year.
“You are about to make a transition for which I trust you look forward tremendously, and for which you are prepared,” she said.
“You’ve been taught, coached and encouraged by teachers and support staff who care, have expertise and the know-how needed to help you achieve your goals. But head and shoulders above all else, students, it is you who deserves credit for reaching this milestone.”
The graduating students who were celebrating success were from Afghanistan, Australia, Brunei, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
Thank you to all who attended the Presentation Night, and good luck to our students. We appreciate the contribution you have made to Canning College and we wish you a bright future.
We also look forward to celebrating success again in 2026 with another future generation of learners.
Award winners
WA UNIVERSITIES’ FOUNDATION PROGRAM & WA CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION
WAUFP Dux (Doug Russell Award) – Eve Lynn Tan (Malaysia)
WACE Dux – Ilya Perkins (Australia)
Principal’s Commendation – Thomas Ang (Malaysia)
Subject awards
Accounting and Finance – Ilya Perkins (Australia)
Business Management and Enterprise – Baron Tjong (Indonesia)
Chemistry – Eve Lynn Tan (Malaysia)
Computer Science – Joshua Sia (Malaysia)
Economics – Ilya Perkins (Australia)
English – Ilya Perkins (Australia)
English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD) – Kirsten De Guzman (Philippines)
English Language and Australian Cultural Studies (ELACS) – Li Yi’an (Singapore)
Human Biology – Eve Lynn Tan (Malaysia)
Mathematics Applications – Matthew Wong (Malaysia)
Mathematics Methods – Ilya Perkins (Australia)
Mathematics Specialist – Ilya Perkins (Australia)
Physics – Danielle Lim (Malaysia)
Psychology – Li Yi’an (Singapore)
DIPLOMA OF COMMERCE
Top Student Award (Dux) – Sherry Wong (Malaysia)
CERTIFICATE IV IN UNIVERSITY ACCESS PROGRAM
Top Student Award – Lukyan Fedorov (USA)
