Recently our newly appointed UQ Science Ambassadors Chloe Lethbridge-Salt and Wenonah van Damme were fortunate to attend a Girls Shaped flames networking event inspiring young women with an avid interest in science.
Wenonah van Damme, Year 11 provides her reflection of the event.
Girls Shaped flames
(GSF), a brilliant business created by Tanya Meessmann, organises events
designed to encourage and inspire young women. Most recently GSF held
an all-day event which allowed high school girls aiming for careers in
science, to network and bond with women who have made ground-breaking
discoveries in STEM. The event was incredibly successful, and there was
a positive and inclusive atmosphere throughout the day.
We were
lucky and honoured to be sponsored by one of the scientist speakers
herself to attend the event. Candice Michelle Goodwin, is not only a
scientist specialising in chemical engineering, biotechnology and other
biology studies, but also a producer and writer of her own series. It
was inspiring to see a scientist involved in arts, and using her
creativity to influence her scientific disciplines.
The
21st century scientist event allowed us to meet and network with 12
amazing scientists in a variety of fields. We listened to a group of
women who travelled all the way to Antarctica, not just to advocate and
promote women in science, but also to draw attention to issues such as
climate change and disease in the 3rd world.
We also had the
opportunity to ask questions for people in research fields such as the
healing properties of snake venom, marine biology as well as students
completing their PhD research. This gave us and other students the
opportunity to ask questions and learn about different fields as well as
university options.
As the UQ science ambassadors we
had so much fun and learnt so much at this incredible event. We would
like to thank Tanya and the rest of the Girl Shaped Flames team giving
us and other women such an incredible opportunity. We would also like to
thank Candice for giving us the opportunity to attend and see her
speak.
...article written by Wenonah van Damme, Year 11