Montana Lower has received national recognition for excellence in a range of fields

Sky’s the limit for Montana

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Former Ingham State High School student Montana Lower is still beaming after winning the school’s 2012 Caltex Best All Rounder Award, one of Australia’s most prestigious secondary school prizes.
Montana joins a select group of secondary students around Australia to receive the award for excellence in the classroom, sports and community.

She received a Distinction in Studies, Distinction for School Service, prizes for Legal Studies and Visual Art, as well as a Silver Award for Athletics. "It has been a busy year keeping up with all of my regular activities and balancing study, but it all really shows that hard work does pay off,’’ she said.

‘‘My first major achievement of the year was winning Regional’s for Wearable Art, then going on to win the State finals and representing Queensland at the Nationals where the Melbourne Institute of Design purchased my canvas. ‘‘My Wearable Art also featured in a DVD for an art major in which an environmental science company (Terrain) purchased copyrights to it. ‘‘This has given me the confidence to sell more of my work which has increased my passion for the arts and made me all the more excited for the future.

‘‘I’m excited for what the future will bring, as I start my studies as an architect at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane in 2013. ‘‘It was all possible because of the opportunities available at Ingham High. ‘‘Although the school is small in comparison to where other students will have come from next year, there is nothing small about the opportunities and I encourage all younger grades to give everything a go because you don’t know where it can take you.’’

"Montana is a worthy winner of the award and has showcased admirable qualities to those around her," said school principal, Kevin Wager.

Montana Lower's mother is Angela Venardos.
Her Grandfather is Angelo Venardos, who played Rugby League for Toowoomba in the Bulimba Cup competition. He now lives at Forest Beach.
Her Great-Grandfather was Bill Venardos, who was President of the Blackhall Rugby League Club, and a senior Administrator in Queensland Rugby League. He was also a prominent Local government administrator.
Also a former president of the Kytherian Association of Queensland. He was sufficiently prominent to warrant an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Bill Venardos entry
The Politis family also lived in Blackhall. Aryiro Venardos is Nick Politis mother. Angelo Benardos and Nick Politis were cousins.
All Venardos's derive from Karavas and surrounding hamlets.