How interesting was it to hear from the NYSF students who the club had sponsored? Thoroughly enjoyable - thanks to Anne for the report
THE QUALITY SHINES THROUGH
I consider myself to be the luckiest person in Rotary in dealing with the Youth portfolio, especially on nights like these. Tonight, members of The Rotary Club of Canterbury were blessed in having two magnificent presentations about the National Youth Science Forum, which was held at the beginning of 2023.
Encouraged by the then Science/Maths Teacher at Canterbury Girls' School, Elizabeth Shepherd, MaryAnn Durmitrache, a school music captain, avid tennis competitor and a passionate student of STEM, described her experience of the program. The Powerpoint presentation covered everything from the speakers at Monash and Melbourne Universities, to the interactions with well-known science professionals, who have made a real difference to our way of life.
She specified the experiments undertaken, even with COVID restrictions and the webinars. What stuck out were the student panel discussions and the visits to the Synchrotron. What MaryAnn gleaned from her time at the National Youth Science Forum was the connections between science and industry.
Our second speaker, Alan Tian, with another stellar package of interests- an interest in Chemistry and Latin, debating and public speaking, and Vice-President of the Interact Club of Camberwell Grammar School- honed in on the way the program clarifies the options that he was considering for a future career in Medicine. He enjoyed the notion that he was in contact with special individuals, for example, Peter Doherty, and learning what day-to-day life was like in the area of STEM-oriented occupations.
He specified the way tours of CSL demonstrated the way assembly lines work and the manner in which the facilities functioned. Another highlight for him was speaking with younger members of staff.
When both of the participants in this program were questioned about whether or not they had changed their direction or choice of STEM course in the future, Alan mentioned that it had more closely defined what specific field of Medicine he wanted to undertake. MaryAnn liked the way industry and science worked together.
CONCLUSION
These are only two examples of participants in the National Youth Science Forum. It always gives The Rotary Club of Canterbury great pleasure to enable young people to have an opportunity to see where they can develop their future career. Tonight, this proved to be the case. We all enjoyed the experience.