Up against fearsome competition and daunting circumstances, Tiana James has conquered.
The Good Shepherd Lutheran College student is the Northern Territory's top-performing Indigenous student of 2021, scoring an ATAR of 89.
Graduating as one the top 20 students territory-wide, her hard work and exceptional academia were celebrated today at an event at the NT parliament.
"It feels really good," she told NITV News.
"I'm excited and I'm looking forward to next year."
Ms James has already applied to Charles Darwin University's medical program, and hopes her success will inspire other Indigenous students.
"It is important to me to show others what they're capable of and can achieve, and to tell them to always try your best," Ms James said.
Ms James family originally hails from the Coonabarabran region of NSW, with some of her family acting as members of the Darkinjung Land Council in Wyong.
Tiana James with her parents Greg and Michelle at this morning's event at parliament house.
Her mother, Michelle James, a disability support worker, told NITV News that she was "extremely proud" of her daughter.
"She did it off her own back... This is what she really wants to do, she wants to be in medicine, so she's worked hard to get the marks she has been chasing.
Ms James told NITV that she hopes to study and eventually work in the NT, as she is committed to giving back to the place she calls home.
"I have a lot of friends and family here, it is very important to me," Ms James said.
This year, 217 of the territory's 1423 graduating students are Indigenous, achieving their Certificate of Education and Training.
Tiana and the rest of the 2021 cohorts' achievements follow a bumper year in 2020, when a record number of students received their NT Certificate of Education and Training.
A total of 1610 students were awarded their NTCET in 2020, up 156 on the previous 2019 results.
Territory education minister Lauren Moss told NITV News that whilst there was a smaller graduating cohort this year "for a variety of reasons", she was pleased that 97.4% of those Indigenous students eligible to receive their NTCET this year had done so.
"I think it's brilliant to have such great role models in terms of the value of education in the NT," Ms Moss said.
Maningrida, a remote community 500 km east of Darwin, fared especially well this year, producing 14 graduates.
The minister acknowledged Maningrida's increased graduate number, labeling it a "positive achievement" that she hopes to see continue to grow in the future.
