A few weeks ago I was invited by my A level Physics teacher to give a talk to his new cohort of year 12s. He wanted me to show the students that even if you go to a prestigious university the people there are human and it takes hard work, dedication, organisation and perseverance to succeed. He wanted me to share my A level exerpiences including the fact that I hated physics at the start of A level, so much so that I changed it for French, had some complications at the school I had to go to for French (it was a separate school to where I was doing the rest of my A levels) and went back to Physics! And who knew that by the end of year 12 I was fully converted to loving physics and decided to study it at university!! I honestly don't know what I'd be doing if hadn't persevered with physics in year 12. Going into year 12 I wanted to go into Medicine but after a very intriguing talk about medical physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) I was in awe by this field of physics that was hidden from me all my life! For the first time I saw the usefulness of physics to society (because textbooks never really showed us why physics was important - it was always learn this equation to find this, but why?) This completely changed my view on physics and for this I am ever so grateful for the opportunity of visiting RAL - a huge thanks goes to my physics teacher!
Now I love physics so much that I do a lot of communicating physics outside uni and it would be THE dream if I could stay on after my degree and pursue a career in research! Through sharing my experiences I hope to inspire and connect with at least one member of my audience and motivate and encourage them to pursue their dreams no matter what obstacles come their way - whether that'd be stereotype issues, or finding it tough to mange the high work load or even just finding the motivation to persevere, I hope they see that there is no such thing as clever -no one is born with knowledge you can only attain it - and that they can be amazing and they can be whoever they want to be (a physicist, astronaut, medical doctor, journalist, ...) if they put their mind to it.
The talk
I arrived at school at about 10:30am and was greeted by the Head of Science, whom I had known through doing the science club at school in the past couple of years. I went up to Science and was greeted by my Physics Teacher and his year 13 students. They were doing some cool project work on particle accelerators!
Half an hour later the year 12s came into the classroom and it was almost time for me to give my talk. My physics teacher gave a quick introduction to who I was and what I was studying at university. During this time my heart was almost beating out of my chest and my hands were shaking! he handed it over to me and my voice barely came out! My voice was a little shaky at the beginning but as soon as I got into the flow of things I began to become less nervous. I spoke about the difficulties I faced during A levels and how I overcame them. Soon my talk was over and I could catch my breath! I had a few questions afterwards which was great! The students were so lovely and it was great to meet them! I stayed for a bit afterwards and helped out whilst they were doing some physics problems. I got a bit carried away and helped out with the GCSE class and the A level classes that followed. It was great to offer advice and help to the current students - it was like I was reliving the past and it brought back so many memories. I felt the students could relate to me and it just made me smile. :)
The best comment I received was this:
and it made me smile so much and I cannot wait to talk to the next cohort next year!
My final word
Definitely go back to your old school, share your story and inspire the younger generation. The students will be thrilled to hear your story!
The talk
I arrived at school at about 10:30am and was greeted by the Head of Science, whom I had known through doing the science club at school in the past couple of years. I went up to Science and was greeted by my Physics Teacher and his year 13 students. They were doing some cool project work on particle accelerators!
Half an hour later the year 12s came into the classroom and it was almost time for me to give my talk. My physics teacher gave a quick introduction to who I was and what I was studying at university. During this time my heart was almost beating out of my chest and my hands were shaking! he handed it over to me and my voice barely came out! My voice was a little shaky at the beginning but as soon as I got into the flow of things I began to become less nervous. I spoke about the difficulties I faced during A levels and how I overcame them. Soon my talk was over and I could catch my breath! I had a few questions afterwards which was great! The students were so lovely and it was great to meet them! I stayed for a bit afterwards and helped out whilst they were doing some physics problems. I got a bit carried away and helped out with the GCSE class and the A level classes that followed. It was great to offer advice and help to the current students - it was like I was reliving the past and it brought back so many memories. I felt the students could relate to me and it just made me smile. :)
The best comment I received was this:
"You know, you're like an analogy where you're in a super dark cave and then there's this shining halo sparkly thing at the end"
and it made me smile so much and I cannot wait to talk to the next cohort next year!
My final word
Definitely go back to your old school, share your story and inspire the younger generation. The students will be thrilled to hear your story!
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