An amazing opportunity arose for one of our Curious Minds participants during Winter Camp in July, thanks to the support and connections of her mentor.

In December 2023, Jessie was matched with her STEM Coach, Mel, for the 2023-24 Curious Minds – girls in STEM program. Over six months, Mel guided Jessie on a project in biomedical engineering that blended their interests, ultimately leading to an extraordinary excursion during East Camp where Jessie experienced a day as an orthopaedic surgeon.

Let’s hear from Jessie…

“As part of the Curious Minds program, Mel and I had spoken a lot about what I wanted to do after school. For me, medicine has always been a big dream and as I finally get closer to finishing school it is starting to look a bit more achievable.

When Mel heard this, straight away she started working to provide me with an opportunity I will never forget.

I was very lucky to be able to visit Canberra Hospital for a day. Accompanying Mel’s sister in-law, a scrub nurse, I got to go into one of their orthopaedic theatres and watch over the two surgeries.

The highlight was definitely being there and experiencing what it was all like. The open reduction of a fractured femur was so amazing, seeing the process of preparing a patient and then performing an actual surgery, with all the different roles people play.

Everyone in the hospital was so helpful, with the doctors often checking to see that I could still see properly. The trip really cemented for me that medicine is what I want to do and I’m sure will help to push me just that little bit harder in the next few years so that I can get there.

My mum was the one that got me onto the Curious Minds program. At first, I was quite hesitant due to my other commitments, particularly with sport, but after much back and forth I decided to just give it a go. And honestly, this has turned into one of the best things I have done.

The Curious Minds program provided me with so much exposure into the world of science and the opportunities inside it. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn.

I have made many lifelong friendships with girls who have the same love for learning as I do and built many great connections through my coach and the program.

The Summer Camp was great, but the Winter Camp was something else. The supercharge sessions were incredibly interesting and just hanging out with everyone was so much fun.

I’ve always loved science and maths but inside these disciplines, my interests have varied. Over the past couple of years, I have loved biology, particularly biomedical science and understanding how to fix ourselves, but in the program, I really enjoyed the practical, hands-on, problem-solving side to engineering.

Growing up I didn’t really have a set role model, but my parents and teachers have always encouraged me to keep learning. My mum has been one of my biggest supporters, giving me opportunity after opportunity to pursue science and maths.

Obviously, medicine is a prestigious career and getting into it is going to be hard enough, so for me to simply make it that far will feel like an accomplishment, but my ultimate goal is to become a trauma surgeon.

One thing that the program did a really good job at was opening my eyes to the numerous career opportunities. It has helped to know that if medicine doesn’t work out that there are so many other important jobs that I could try, and the program has encouraged me to keep learning.

During Curious Minds we were each given a STEM coach to mentor us over the program. My coach was a systems engineer based in Canberra. Mel and I had regular catch ups working our way through modules mainly based around our projects.

For my project, I explored artificial kidneys. I looked at the role they play in our bodies, what happens when they fail and how that is currently treated. I then looked at xenotransplantation and how it could become the future of medicine.

I loved the coaching program; it provided me with new connections in the STEM world and it was just someone to talk to. Having a mentor was one of the most valuable parts of this program, and Mel and I still stay in contact.”

Now let’s hear from Mel, Jessie’s STEM Coach from the 2023-24 Program who has a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Bachelor of Science, a Master of Systems Engineering and over 10 years’ working as a Systems Engineer on safety-critical air traffic, communications and ICT systems.

“I was always interested in how the world worked. I loved science at school and decided to study it at university. I also added in Engineering and made it a Double Degree because I’d heard it was like applied science – and I’m glad I did! I found a passion for Engineering and loved having a double degree because I could balance Engineering with outdoor geology field trips. I then started as a graduate Engineer and have been working as a Systems Engineer for over 10 years now. I find it very rewarding to be able to deploy a system and see it make a positive difference for those that use it.

I am the Systems Engineering Lead, contracting to the Australian Antarctic Division as part of their ICT program to uplift all of their essential communications equipment in Antarctica. One example is a mobile phone for each expeditioner in Antarctica. I make sure the systems meet their needs through requirements analysis, engineering design, testing and system integration, to then be able to deploy it to help the expeditioners in Antarctica perform their world class scientific research.

Growing up, I have had several female role models, including my mum. I was told that I could do anything I wanted, and that my gender did not limit me in any way. I think it is important to have role models because “If you can see it, you can be it”.

My student, Jessie, investigated the role of kidneys in the body, and researched ways to help those with kidney failure. She looked into artificial kidneys and the complexities with this, as well as xenotransplantation which is using organs from animals. She presented a case study of a successful pig kidney transplant into a human completed in Massachusetts under Harvard Medical School.

Jessie is very interested in medicine and wants to become a surgeon. I am an Engineer, and so she thought biomedical engineering would be an interesting topic to combine our two passions. She found artificial organs interesting, and then discovered xenotransplantation which has recently been used to improve treatment options for transplant patients.

I wanted to become a STEM coach with the Curious Minds program because I am passionate about STEM. I know how important it is to encourage others that are also interested in STEM as it is a very important field and will only become even more important in the future!

I loved learning new things, connecting with the other STEM coaches and I enjoyed helping my student. I was able to organise a tour of the theatres at Canberra Hospital because she is interested in becoming a surgeon.

STEM is such an important area to continue research and work in this field, as it affects all of our lives. As technologies develop, we can continue to improve our lives and help those that need it.

The Curious Minds program inspires young minds and opens their eyes to the wide range of STEM career options. By providing them with knowledge and possibilities, it fosters their passion and innovation for future careers.”

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The Curious Minds – girls in STEM program offers an opportunity for young women who are passionate about an education and career in STEM to do something different, alongside their education pathway… to take a break and ignite their brilliance!