The doors that kept popping up from NYSF kept me moving forward, and forced me to grow and heal.
After coming into some hard times with her family, the NYSF 2017 Year 12 Program helped keep alumna Megan Borondy on track and focus her attention to her love of science. She attributes finishing high school and sitting her year 12 exams to "the encouragement of peers who had also been at the NYSF with me... NYSF helped shape the pathway I chose". She put her hard times behind her, proving that when life throws you a curve ball, you can bounce back by focusing on the things you love!
"Needless to say, I did not do well on my exams and did not get into the course I wanted at university. I took a gap year and moved out of home. A year later, I enrolled in a Diploma of Youth Work. After completing it, I had the opportunity to attend the 2017 London International Science Forum (LIYSF) with NYSF. This was a dream come true, the kind of dream that would have made me cry with delight had I known it during my year from hell. I can proudly say I am still in contact with the network I created there. I also met my partner there, a Canadian engineering and physics student.
Between NYSF and LIYSF, I had multiple opportunities to speak at Rotary about the NYSF. I discovered that I adore public speaking. I started a degree in anthropology, but after a little nudging from my partner, I found the perfect bachelor’s program. I transferred into a Bachelor of Health Science, majoring in Psychology and Health Promotion. Psychology is for the scientist in me, Health Promotion turns my inability to be quiet into a productive employable skill.
So where am I now? I am living in Canada and studying online at Deakin University. I work with disabled and traumatised children and young people. Without going through every door NYSF opened to me, I would have never discovered my passions, gone to London, met my partner, or healed from the trauma I experienced. The doors that kept popping up from NYSF kept me moving forward, and forced me to grow and heal. They stopped me from stagnating and collapsing. My biggest piece of advice to future students is that you are made of rubber. Give every opportunity a try; what’s the worst that could happen? You have the ability to bounce back like I did."