When Alishba Saeed clicked the link to see the score her entire school career boiled down to, she was in disbelief.
The Darwin High School year 12 student had achieved an ATAR score of 99.95 – the highest possible ranking she could have received, putting her in the top 0.05 per cent of year 12s across the country.
It's a perfect score that no-one else in the Northern Territory achieved this year, and that only 33 students in Queensland reached.
"I'm just trying to absorb this moment," Ms Saeed said, at an awards ceremony held at Parliament House on Monday morning celebrating the Territory's top 20 high school achievers.
"I'm still in disbelief. And I'm really overjoyed."
Ms Saeed's score comes off the back of half a decade of preparation and hard work. But she also put her ranking down to a strong support network.
"My family is originally from Pakistan, and we've been living in Australia for over a decade now," she said.
"They definitely pushed me, but I think they also were a great support network ... they really helped me especially on the emotional and mental side."
And her work has paid off, with university offers to study medicine now on the table. But she says her heart lies with physics and aeronautical engineering.
"I'm really interested [in] the technological advancements that are occurring in medicine, for example, the use of artificial intelligence and robotics to improve the accuracy of surgeries," she said.
"So hopefully, I can contribute to that development in the future."
This year, Ms Saeed joined 1,352 eligible young people – or 79 per cent of their cohort – in finishing year 12 in the Northern Territory.
That figure was down on the past few years, with a total of 1,423 students graduating in 2021, 1,610 in 2020 and 1,446 in 2019.
Of those who completed their certificate of education this year, 228 were Aboriginal students, and 70 students hailed from remote communities.
Mataranka High School recorded its first high school graduate and Laynhapuy Homeland School in East Arnhem Land saw six students complete year 12 for the first time.
At today's awards ceremony, Emma King was awarded the Top Aboriginal Student of 2022 with an ATAR score of 95.9.
She said she felt relief at getting the score she wanted, and also attributed her success to hard work and a strong network of family and teachers.
She said at this stage, she was tossing up between studying law or medicine interstate next year, with a view of returning to the NT to help people.
"I come from a community called Kalkarindji on the Northern Territory side of the Western Australia border. It's a pretty small community," she said.
"It means a lot to me [to win top Aboriginal student].
"You know, Aboriginal people are everything to me. Like from this point, I will spend my entire life and service to Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people have given me everything."
After congratulating the students on their success, Education Minister Eva Lawler encouraged them to take up jobs in the Territory.
"Whatever you do, if you go away for university, I encourage you, plead with you, to make sure you come back to the Territory. We need the best and brightest to return home," she said.
The Territory's top 20 year 12 students hailed from Darwin High School, The Essington School, St Phillip's College and Casuarina Senior College.
