As the 2024 NYSF Year 12 Program gears up, we're thrilled to announce the addition of two dynamic communications interns to the NYSF team! With boots on the ground in Canberra and Brisbane, they're all set to capture the essence, excitement, and lasting impact of this incredible event.
Our intern for Canberra is a two-time NYSF alumni, having joined us as both a student and Student Staff Leader (Staffie). Read on to meet Katie, our wonderful Canberra intern, and learn more about what they've been up to since the NYSF!
Hello NYSF-ers and members of the NYSF community!
My name is Katie. I attended the NYSF as a student in 2019 and as a Staffie in 2020, and I am really excited to get involved again, but this time as a Communications Intern. I am from Melbourne, and I have just completed the undergraduate component of the Global Challenges science degree at Monash University, majoring in biochemistry.
I loved my time at the NYSF - it was the perfect way to meet like-minded students from across Australia who share the same energy, passions, and science interests. I thrived in the energetic atmosphere established by the Staffies and throughout the program my self-confidence grew. I went from being the kind of person who was intimidated by speaking in front of ten people to happily giving a thank-you speech in front of the entire NYSF student body after one of the lectures.
Katie, right, alongside other participants of the 2019 NYSF Year 12 Program.
Since the NYSF, I have completed the science major component of my Global Challenges degree. The Global Challenges program brings scientific thinking into the real world by incorporating leadership, business, public speaking, communication, policy, and entrepreneurship into the program design. I chose to major in biochemistry as I love its inherent interdisciplinarity, existing at the crossroads of chemistry, biology, physics, evolution, anatomy, and medicine. This choice was also driven by my experience of science at school. In high school biology, I was continually intrigued by how cellular processes work at the smallest, most fundamental levels, but apparently, that level of knowledge was “outside of the study scope”. I clearly never stopped asking these questions, as I now find myself with a degree in biochemistry!
In addition to my studies, I have travelled to Japan and Italy, and moved out of home into an apartment in the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I love living near the city and have since developed a keen interest in public transport and urban planning. In my spare time, I enjoy photography, trainspotting, reading up on politics, bouldering, making playlists, and art journaling.
Katie, left, working at Science Gallery Melbourne.
Along with my studies, I have been very lucky to be able to work at the intersection of science and art. I took a year's break from my studies to work as an intern for the physics YouTube channel Veritasium, where I learned to research, write scripts, produce videos, create TikToks, and hire new staff! At the start of 2023, I began working at Science Gallery Melbourne as an art mediator for the exhibitions Break the Binaries and Dark Matters, and I’m looking forward to our upcoming Not Natural exhibition.
I haven’t been to Canberra since my student session, so I am looking forward to returning to the city and going to the STEM visits! My advice to students on session is to drink lots of water, wear sunscreen, don’t be afraid to speak up, ask lots of questions, and have as much fun as you possibly can!
See you on session!