Introducing a remarkable alum from the 2015-16 Curious Minds program, who not only went on to win a Gold medal at the 2017 International Earth Science Olympiad in France, and become a doctor, YiJie is also a STEM Coach for the 2024-25 Curious Minds program! Let’s go back to where it all began…

YiJie Neo, now Dr Neo, featured on the right, was a Curious Minds student in 2015-16.

What year/ cycle did you participate in the Curious Minds program?

2015-16

Are you currently studying or working in the field of STEM?

I am currently working as a junior doctor in Melbourne, as a General/Obstetrics & Gynaecology Resident at Monash Health.

What else have you been up to since participating in the Curious Minds program?

I have been participating in student projects/conferences in uni, particularly global health related. Highlights include: Co-convenor of Changed x Unzipped Global Health Conference, National Director of Public and Global Health at the Asian Medical Students’ Association – Australia Chapter, and Trip Co-ordinator of a public health project in partnership with a Rural Development organisation in Himachal Pradesh, India (see photo below).

I enjoy mentoring, particularly through 6 years with the Access Monash program: a mentoring program to promote tertiary education, working with students from under-represented schools. Students are often from first-in-family, refugee or asylum seeker, low socio-economic, or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Also mentor and mentee in a Women in Leadership mentoring program, among others.

I have been involved with research – various research scholarships in public health, oncology, women’s health. Research has taken me around the world to various international conferences.

I also play in jazz bands throughout high school and in university stage bands. Since starting work, it has been difficult to commit to a stage band, especially since I often have an unpredictable roster, however, I continue to regularly play gigs in casual jazz trios and quartets!

I’ve played in the band for annual Revues every year at university, and also enjoyed performing on stage in community musicals, such as being a cast member and later an inclusion team member of the wonderful Stars and the Moon Inclusicals – a community theatre troupe for performers of all abilities!

I’ve been a fan of watching motor racing since I was a kid, and I’ve enjoyed being able to volunteer trackside as a medic at the MotoGP, World Superbikes and Go-Karting championships!

Did you have a female role model growing up? Or someone who encouraged you to pursue STEM?

My mum has worked in a variety of roles, including in IT, and as a project manager. As a child, I was always in awe of her creativity and problem-solving. I remember thinking she could do anything, as she modelled to us what it is like to put your head to a problem and really apply yourself to find a solution, even when you’re outside your comfort zone. As I have grown up, I have an increasing appreciation for her resilience and resourcefulness, and I still think she can do pretty much anything!

I particularly appreciate how supportive Mum and Dad were in fostering my passions and interests as a kid.

I spent a lot of my primary school years requesting random equipment for home “experiments” and they kindly acquiesced, hunting high and low to source beakers, syringes, graduated cylinders, a toy microscope, periodic table posters, a 3D torso of the human body, and more.

What were the highlights of doing the Curious Minds Program?

• Supercharge Sessions – essentially my first exposure to Earth Science. While I went into the program interested in Maths, Biology and Chemistry, the Supercharge Sessions were a great opportunity to explore other areas of STEM that I hadn’t previously learnt much about.
• Meeting passionate girls from across the country – building an awesome network of friends from different states/territories, several of whom I am still in contact with today!
• The exposure to Earth Science led to me sitting the Australian Science Olympiads exams in 2016, from which I found myself invited to the Earth Science Olympiad Summer School in 2017, and was then fortunate enough to represent Australia in the 2017 International Earth Science Olympiad in France where I won an individual gold medal and silver international team (Earth Science Project) medal.

The whole journey was absolutely surreal and life-changing – I’m sure I would not have sat the Olympiad exams if not for Curious Minds. The EESO journey was incredible and I’m so grateful for the newfound love for Earth Science which literally revolutionised how I see the world, and the EESO family – comprising a network of friends across Australia and the globe. I had IESO 2017 friends from Germany and France visit me in Melbourne as recently as 2024, 7 whole years after we met for the first time!

Do you remember what the project was that you worked on with your STEM coach?

I focused my project on investigating different options for university. Neither of my parents had been to university, but I knew it was the pathway that I wanted to go down. However, there are so many options and so much lingo that it can be quite overwhelming, and took a while to wrap my head around.

It wasn’t an experiment or super STEM-specific per se, but it was a big worry on my mind at the time and I really just wanted to spend some time exploring what options I had and trying to understand it all better. It was a good opportunity to wade through all of the information out there to try and work out and find greater clarity on what options I had and what to do in the lead up to my VCE.

The main thing was probably being able to speak to another cool female role model in STEM, who taught us a bit about her job. There are so many jobs in STEM that I’d never even heard about, and it was really enlightening to learn about some of the options out there that utilise STEM skills.

Did your participation in Curious Minds impact your studies/ careers?

Yes, it strengthened my desire to be a scientist as well as a clinician – I had always wanted to be a doctor, but my Curious Minds experience really made me want to also be a researcher.

I believe it was at Winter Camp where we were lucky enough to hear from the incredible Dr Cathy Foley who shared about her career journey and her decision to become a scientist because of the impact you can have on the world through the ripple effect of a single scientific discovery.

Her talk was inspirational, and it resonated so strongly with me that I remember it to this day. I was fan-girling so much! It really reinforced my desire to be a scientist one day.

Curious Minds leading to IESO, was of course another amazing and completely unexpected outcome, which taught me so much about being open to opportunities even if they are unexpected! In a less tangible way, a really important impact it had on me was that it felt like a vote of confidence in me and my potential to pursue a career in STEM. I had always loved STEM, but it was hard as a student not to have a sense of impostor syndrome, worrying that I was behind or not good enough. The boys in my Maths and Science classes tended to be more vocal than the girls, and I know that many of my female peers felt the same worry that “everyone knows this and I don’t”.

Being surrounded by female role models was so empowering, helping us believe that yes, we do belong, we have what it takes and we should chase our dreams.

Would you recommend the Curious Minds program? If yes, why?

Yes, absolutely! It’s an opportunity to meet likeminded friends from across the country and build a really special network.

It’s a chance to dive into so much really cool, hands-on STEM activities – the summer and winter camps were full of experiments, ideas and so much learning. We got to “play” in university labs with all sorts of cool gadgets and equipment! I remember hugging the summer camp handbook as I left – it was such a treasure trove of ideas, and I wanted to recreate these experiments at home.

It can open your mind to other areas of STEM – a great chance to explore areas you may not have previously had the chance to, with staff members who are so knowledgeable and keen to teach and share about so much.

Being able to meet role models that help you to believe that yes, you can do whatever you put your mind to – there are so many people along the way who can help if you put yourself out there and are brave enough to say “yes” to the opportunities that arise.