Day 79/365: Cassini Outreach

[nanila]

I went to a girls' school today to talk to 50 Year 6 students (aged 10-11) about the Cassini mission and the work I do. To say "it went well" would be an understatement. I talked for about 30 minutes and then spent the next 40 minutes answering their questions. They would have kept me longer, but their teacher insisted they go to their last lesson of the day. A group of them also asked me to sign some of the lithographs of Saturn that I'd brought to give them.

This was all pretty brilliant on its own, but then their teacher told me the following story. I had previously visited in November of last year to give a similar talk to the Year 5 students at this school. One of the girls in the class had, up until my visit, been adamant for a couple of years that she was going to be a hairdresser. After my visit, however, she had gone home and told her mother, "Mummy, I've changed my mind. I'm not going to be a hairdresser."

"Oh?" replied her mother. "What are you going to be now?"

"I'm going to be a space scientist. Or an engineer."

Five months later, she has not changed her mind. She's now one of the top-performing students in her science classes.

I know this girl is very young. I know she may as yet change her mind again. But if bringing to life the possibility of becoming a scientist or engineer to one girl, for whom that was a remote possibility at best, were literally the only effect my outreach efforts had ever had on any of the hundreds of students I've visited in the last twelve years*, it would be worth it.

* I'm fairly sure it's not.

Comments

[pax_athena]

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

(For me, outreach is literally what keeps me going through the dark moments of the job.)

[nanila]

Yup yup yup. 100% agreed. I've not been at my best recently and this has picked me right up.

[hilarita]

<3

[nanila]

♥! :)

[kaberett]

AAAAAAAAAAH. <3<3<3

[nanila]

YES. <3

[angelofthenorth]

How utterly awesome

[nanila]

Yes, this. It's not often I get that sort of validation.

[lurkingcat]

♥ ♥ ♥

[nanila]

♥ Yes :)

[meepettemu]

<3

[nanila]

:) :) :) <3

[redsixwing]

Well. Well!

How extremely cool. :D

[nanila]

Yes, it was quite a pick-me-up on a day when I wasn't feeling so great. :)

[ironymaiden]

REPRESENTATION MATTERS :D

i am looking at going back to school and thinking with some regret about the opportunities i missed when i was younger because i didn't have any idea what someone like me could do. go you, go little girl.

[nanila]

REPRESENTATION MATTERS

My experiences would suggest that this is indeed the case. :)

[worlds_of_smoke]

Go you! ♥

[nanila]

Thanks! It certainly motivates me to keep doing outreach.

[thekumquat]

Excellent. For reference, I think Quatlet and Quatling have only met you once or twice and were much more interested in the custard buns than you at the time, but simply being able to mention that meal being the one with my friend the rocket scientist has, I think, helped them years later both think that controlling rockets is a viable career, assuming the YouTubing and running the cafe at Tesco's doesn't earn enough.

Apparently when Reception did Space last year, Quatling did pipe up with "i've met a rocket scientist"! See, you're doing outreach simply by existing!

[nanila]

Apparently when Reception did Space last year, Quatling did pipe up with "i've met a rocket scientist"! See, you're doing outreach simply by existing!

Aw, that's excellent! Thanks for telling me. :)

[st_aurafina]

*fistpump of victory for girls in STEM* That is amazing! Go you!

[nanila]

*answering fistpump* Yes! I hope at the very least she continues to believe that STEM is something she CAN do, even if she doesn't carry on studying it at university or doing it as a career.

[omnipotent]

This is wonderful!

[nanila]

I was pretty chuffed at being told the story. :)

[lark_ascends]

Big love for this.

[nanila]

Yes! <3

[roarofsilence]

This post made me a bit emotional! <3 That's literally amazing, if you raised even just one young woman's dreams then that's worth it a thousand times over. Go you. :)

[nanila]

Thank you. :)

I still have a strong memory of visiting a school in a deprived area of Wolverhampton a few years back to talk to students of a similar age (Years 5-6). The interest levels of the students were, shall we say, highly variable. But the girls to whom it meant something made it absolutely worth it. They lined up to give me a hug after my talk and the Q&A, and a couple of them were close to tears.

[davidgillon]

Result!

[nanila]

I know! It's not often that you get to hear feedback at all. I mean, on a good day you'll get a thank-you from the teacher or event organiser, but you don't usually get to hear that you had a lasting impact on anyone.

[sfred]

Hurray!

[nanila]

Yes! \o/

[soliano]

A living example of why representation and role models are so important. Brava!

[nanila]

Thanks! I do hope it sticks for her, and she continues to think of science as something she can choose to do.

[ironed_orchid]

Eeee!

[nanila]

Yes! Squee and bouncing.

[cmcmck]

My niece took forever to make her uni choices and it's turned out to be criminology!

Where did that come from? :o)

[nanila]

Heh. I can't imagine how a certain eccentric aunt might not have had something to do with it. ;)

[tree_and_leaf]

Brilliant!

[nanila]

It was rather uplifting. :)

[ursajoanna]

Adding to the big pile of ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ !

[nanila]

Thank you! And also: ♥.

[pbristow]

Yay!!! =:o]

Also: I'm pretty sure the ISS astronauts do sometimes need haircuts. In microgravity. Multi-skilling FTW. =;o}

[nanila]

Yep. She can definitely do both if she wants.

[silveradept]

That's exactly the thing we want to see - more people recognizing themselves in science because there's someone there to show them they can do it.

[nanila]

It's lovely to have this kind of confirmation that outreach makes a lasting impact.

[ayebydan]

♥

[nanila]

Yes! ♥

[wohali]

GO YOU! How awesome. Congrats on the inspiration!

[nanila]

Thank you! It was most uplifting. :)