Somerset Lifetimes 2020

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SOMERSET TO CAMBRIDGE Noelle Panlilio Class of 2013

When I was fifteen, I wrote and performed a poem about everything I had wanted to be since I was three (chef, architect, engineer - it changed often) and how, at such a critical time in Year 12, I no longer had any idea. In it I concluded that I would be okay because I had the support of everyone around me, and because I knew for sure the two things I have always loved the most: “words” and “making things”. What I meant was that ever since I was small I had a passion for reading, writing and language, as well as creativity and innovation. Seven years later, I have followed my love of words through a law degree and into law practise. Along the way, I discovered intellectual property, which incorporated my love for innovation with law. In October, I followed both passions to Cambridge University to complete a Masters of Law specialising in intellectual property. That poem (and many others) was produced in the Wordsmiths creative writing club at Somerset, one of my greatest joys in Senior School. I had the pleasure of being a member of the club since Year 8 and captain in Year 12. Needless to say, my love of words flourished in the group. Equally formative for me was the IB Diploma course and, particularly, the English curriculum. I studied (and fell in love with) writers like T.S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath, and John Donne - two of which are alumni of the very university I am about to attend. Now, at 23, I want to be a professor of law - yes, it certainly involves plenty of words. It also involves education and journeying with young people. These were things I came to enjoy through tutoring, youth ministry, and as a member of a local school advisory council. In retrospect, the seeds were likely sown through the vertical PC homeroom system and the many leadership opportunities at Somerset. Having been on scholarship, I remain immensely grateful for the excellent education I received in high school. I would not have achieved the dream of going to Cambridge without it.

The Alumni Chapter

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