Emmy Grant Prefect's Address

Deputy Head Prefect Emmy (Year 11), reflects on how participating in Legally Blonde: The Musical, reconnected her with childhood passions and demonstrates the power of our new Prefects’ ‘Give More, Grow More’ initiative.

Each week, our student leaders share their insights with their peers in Assembly.

My name is Emmy, and it is my absolute privilege to serve as one of your Deputy Head Prefects for 2025 to 2026.

Firstly, I would like to give a big shout out to everyone who contributed to Wenona’s recent production of Legally Blonde: The Musical, whether as part of the singing or stage crew.

Given the announcement in last week’s Assembly of our Prefect Initiative theme, ‘Give More, Grow More’, I thought it would only be fitting to tell you about my personal connection to this philosophy.

Following the final performance on Saturday, it was not until I sat down that night that I fully realised the profound impact this production had on me.

Let me take you back to my primary school years in Hong Kong, where I was an avid contributor to the performing arts program. I sang in the choir, my favourite class was music and my favourite time of year was the annual school production. That particular year, we were staging Madagascar the Musical Junior. So, I practised my best King Julian voice in hopes of getting the role. Unfortunately, I did not - but I did still live my best life as one of the main lemurs in the cast. Safe to say, I was very proud of myself.

Although I have always looked back on that time fondly, moving countries and schools was an incredibly challenging experience, and it ultimately led to me stepping away from the performing arts until this year.

When auditions for the musical were announced at the beginning of the year, I faced an internal debate about whether I should do it or not. Firstly, I am not the greatest singer and secondly, I had not done much performing arts since those childhood days. But I decided to go for it and give it my all in the role of a Harvard professor in a dodgy wig.

So back to why I am telling you this story. Over the course of the year, I have attended around 30 rehearsals and performed four shows. At every single rehearsal, my love for performing arts slowly grew back stronger each day. The more I gave to this musical, the more I grew to learn I should have listened to my 10-year-old heart telling me to not give up something I loved so dearly.

As it begins to seem that my high school journey is slowly coming to an end — and it certainly felt that way in the tear-soaked dance party at the end of the musical on Saturday night — I have realised that there are so many things I wish I had done.

I wish I had embraced little me's obsession with dance, theatre, reading, dinosaurs and the Toy Story movies. I wish I hadn’t spent so much time worrying about the future and the ‘what ifs’. I wish I had just enjoyed the now and savoured the little things that made me happy, like musical theatre.

Giving more to the musical has allowed me to grow the mindset that you only get one childhood, so spend it doing the things that you love, rather than worrying about whether it will work out in the future, because if it makes you happy now, that is all that matters.

I encourage you all to give more to things that you truly enjoy, because you might end up in my situation — growing to know more about yourself, more about where you came from and more about where you are going from here.

Look after yourselves this week, do something that makes you smile, and embrace little you just a little bit.