THEY’RE two of the brightest science students in their schools, and both of them will be commended for their efforts at the inaugural Victor Chang School Science Award ceremony in Dubbo.
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Jemma Pilossof from Orange High School and Emily Milne from Canobolas Rural Technology High School will travel to Dubbo to take part in the awards ceremony.
Dr Daniela Stock from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute will attend the ceremony to congratulate the winning students and share her insights into why the younger generation should consider a career in science.
“In science the whole world is there for you to question, and you can follow that dream endlessly,” Dr Stock explained.
“If you’re someone who sees something and questions how it works, or if you wonder how you could make a difference in the world, then a career in science is the perfect opportunity for you because it gives you this luxury.”
Jemma credits her father for nurturing a love of science and wants to one day work in one of her favourite science streams.
“I like both physics and chemistry but prefer physics of the two,” she said. “Ideally I would like to work in some area of astronomy.”
Jemma’s science teacher, and Orange High School principal, David Lloyd, said one of the great joys of teaching was having students like Jemma.
“You get this really special connection with students when they’re passionate about your subject, when they get that lightbulb moment,” he said,
“Science is the kind of subject that everyone can be passionate about in some way or another, from the mechanisms of plant life through to some higher order theoretical thinking.”
The students were selected by the science staff at each school.
Canobolas Rural Technology High School deputy principal and science teacher, Judith Bertolin, said choosing Emily was a simple equation.
“Emily really shone out,” she said. “This is an incredibly prestigious award and the decision wasn’t difficult at all.”
Emily became interested in science after she was selected to be a part of the Excel program when she started in Year 7.
“We didn’t do much science when I was in primary school, but when I came here and began to study biology, and completed all the extension work, I really began to enjoy it,” she said.
