Since the introduction of NYSF (previously Summer Science School) in 1984, The Rotary Club of Engadine has sponsored many successful year 11 applicants to the annual NYSF and continued with this sponsorship again in 2021.
For more details about NYSF, visit our website page at https://engadinerotary.org.au/sitepage/national-youth-science-forum .
However, due to the Covid-19 virus, the 2021 Forum was undertaken remotely rather than residentially.
This year, Engadine Rotary sponsored two students who are studying STEM subjects and desiring to continue in a career in the Science and Engineering professions They were ;
Elizabeth has reported on her NYSF experience to our Youth Services Director Mr. Peter Sheehy, albeit remotely held as follows " I really enjoyed NYSF, and while it was disappointing that the in-person STEM visits were cancelled because of COVID, I still found the experience so valuable and inspiring! The vast range of science and health professionals opened up a multitude of prospective STEM fields and inspired me to realise that science inspires change for the better! It helped me realise that science offers so many opportunities in a range of fields, that are multidisciplinary, requiring critical thinking and a passion for helping others and making discoveries!
I would like to thank you, and Engadine Rotary for providing me with the means to attend this wonderful experience, it will stick with me forever!
Kind Regards,
Elizabeth Atkins, 11C
St Patrick's College Sutherland "
Celine Valtchev
Our other student was Celine Valtchev, who reported that " The Covid modified NYSF was really incredible! It ended up being 14 days on Zoom calls (which were a bit tough to focus through for the extended time period) but the interviews and lectures were so interesting that it didn't feel that long at all. We were meant to have three in-person visits at a variety of locations like CSIRO, ANSTO and Taronga Zoo but sadly they all got cancelled due to the increase in covid cases at that point in time. Although, I think the NYSF team will be in touch later in the year to organise a replacement event, but these are definitely events to look forward to! We did end up organising our own in-person meeting with people from around Sydney which was exciting since we finally had the chance to see each other not over Zoom.
I think some of the highlights for me were definitely the Nobel Laureate talks given by both Professor Barry Marshall and Professor Brian Schmidt about their research and their journeys in their unique fields. Another really engaging lecture came from Professor Jamie Seymour in which he talked about Australian venomous animals and how the properties of their toxins are being researched to be used in future medicines and antibiotics (e.g. box jellyfish toxin used for a possible arthritis medication) - something which I haven't really considered before! Overall I think the experience was profoundly rewarding because it really did broaden the scope of what a career or future in STEM/Science could entail; showing me careers and opportunities that I never really thought were possible and great advice on how to get there. And it was also a really exciting opportunity to make connections with people my age all around Australia with whom I share similar interests and could potentially cross paths in the future! I would absolutely recommend this program to anyone considerig, it really does live up to its reputation and I would image it is even better in person, (hopefully Covid allowing next year).
I would like to express my gratitude again for your help and the help of Engadine rotary in enabling this incredible experience for me and any future attendees, so thank you very much for the help in this opportunity. If there is anything further that I can do with regards to NYSF for Engadine Rotary, please don't hesitate to email me about it, and I'd love to become more involved in volunteering and contributing to Rotary events. Is there a particular way I can get notified about fundraising events to volunteer or is there a process I should go through first in a meeting at the club to get involved?
Regards,
Celine V
So, there you have it!
Rotary continuing to facilitate future career paths and opening opportunities for our county’s future.
