When Maria Moshi first arrived in Australia with her family after fleeing Iraq and Lebanon because of war, terrorism and violence, she never expected to end up with an 80.85 ATAR and a nomination for an award.

Moshi spoke Chaldean and Arabic but not English when she arrived in Australia as a 13-year-old. Other students would make fun of her for not being able to understand what they were saying.

Now, her major work, a self-defence handbag inspired by the time she spent as a young girl in unsafe environments, has been nominated by NESA for a design and technology award.

“In Iraq, women suffered from kidnapping, from rape because they were not safe, they couldn’t walk by themselves and wouldn’t know how men would react to them,” she said.

Moshi’s HSC year at the Mary MacKillop Catholic College did not go to plan. In April, her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, and because her parents speak such minimal English, she needed to be at the hospital to act as a translator for appointments.

Her mother has recovered, and Moshi has already received an offer from Western Sydney University to study a bachelor of medical science next year.

One of Maria’s close friends at Mary MacKillop, Helma Hermiz, was also nominated for a design award for her major project – a small-scaled upcycled circular saw.

Hermiz also fled from Iraq to Australia with her family following the arrival of ISIS on their village’s doorstep. Her aunty was captured by ISIS and has not been seen since.

While she hoped to have done better in some subjects, she says she’s “feeling relieved” overall with an ATAR in the early 70s. Hermiz wants to follow in her sister’s footsteps and study architecture at UTS.

“As a refugee, when I was seven years old and travelling to North Iraq, I saw people sitting in unconstructed buildings living in extreme poverty,” she said. “It really inspired me that when I grew up, I would design houses for them.”