Harmony Lower

Alumni

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I am studying an advanced Bachelor of Science at Monash University and I am planning on majoring in two of chemistry, mathematics, or astrophysics. I am in a program called GEM (Gender Equity in Maths) where every student gets a female mentor to help and guide you. As a part of this program, I have been fortunate enough to meet and see the works of some pretty amazing women in STEM.

I am a massive gamer and puzzler. I love any kind of problem solving, especially a challenge. Most video games contain problem solving, whether it’s figuring out how to do something the best way or literal puzzle games. I also find that going deeper into content provided by your school there are a plethora of harder questions that could take you days to solve. These are my favourite as they not only help you understand your content more deeply but really makes you think about every possible approach. Science is problem solving, no matter the field you must be curious or love problem solving to fully appreciate science.

I have known I wanted to be a scientist since year 5, and now in my first year of university and I am in a research course. My interests have varied over the years as I have been exposed to different fields but my passion for learning and my curiosity is what ultimately motivated me to stick in science. Over the years I have had some amazingly supportive teachers that encouraged my passions and really helped me grow. I was set on chemistry or astrophysics until I went to Curious Minds in year 9 and this opened me up to pathways I had never even considered before such as astrochemistry. I believe the best way of discovering your field is to try them all, you’ll never know if you enjoy something until you try it whether it’s a subject as school or as work experience, give everything a go.

“Marie Curie was my inspiration when I started my journey in science, both her crucial discoveries and her forging through as a woman inspired me to keep going over the years even when presented with the challenges that can arise being a woman in STEM.”

[Curious Minds] really opened my eyes towards all the opportunities available and inspired me to continue searching for connections in the science community to expose myself as much as possible. It also encouraged me to act as a mentor for girls at my school, nurturing and encouraging their passion for STEM. I am still friends with some of the people I met doing the program and many of us are at the same university and some even in the same course.

This interview was developed in partnership with 3M