This week I won Highly Commended for the Queensland Women in STEM Prize! All the nominees are extremely inspiring, doing incredible work to change the world and it was surreal to be recognised among them.
The award ceremony was held at the Queensland Museum on July 12, 2022. Of the 50+ nominees, thirteen finalists were selected, and then four winners were announced on the night:
Judges’ Award Winner: Katrina Wruck
Depolymerisation of waste natural zeolite rock and green conversion to synthetic zeolite
Breaking Barriers Award Winner: Jennifer Leigh Campbell
Transforming spaces in STEM through play and purpose
Highly Commended Award Winner: Alise Fox
Plenty of fish in the sea? Using mathematics to save the ocean, educate, and communicate with the masses
Highly Commended Award Winner: Johanna Nalau
The unexpected value of climate adaptation heuristics
It was incredible to meet so many brilliant, successful and passionate women. I expected to be intimidated, but instead found myself in a group that was excited build each other up and encouraged me to take up space.
Most of my career I’ve had Imposter Syndrome and no idea what I want to do when I grow up, but this is a really nice indicator that perhaps I’ve finally figured it out. I’m really excited that this will give me a chance to do more STEM engagement and help little ones find their own pathway into STEM.
My mum took a video of my acceptance speech, but here’s the crux of it:
It took me a long time to figure out what my STEM career could look like outside of academia. STEM is super broad, and if you look hard enough you’ll find a place in there that fits you perfectly. I love that STEM gives me the skills to solve real world problems in real-time. I love sharing this with others and being a gateway to help them find their own place in STEM.
We are facing a swathe of global issues—climate change, pollution, pandemics—and these affect everybody. We know we need to hear all sides of a story to get a complete understanding, yet if we look at people we’re turning to to solve these problems, they generally belong to a narrow range of demographics. Events like this highlight the importance of giving more people a voice and celebrating when their voices are heard.
We need to continue to shift the public perception of what a person in STEM looks like, and showcase the diversity of the STEM workforce, so that young people can look up to us and think “If they can do it, so can I”.