St Mary’s student Lachlan Jones has returned from the Aboriginal Summer School for Excellence in Technology and Science (ASSETS) with a fresh vigour for learning.
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The Year 11 student was one of 33 youth selected to attend ASSETS in Adelaide from January 14-22.
Lachlan was aided by St Mary’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander focus teacher, Samantha Kennedy, in applying for the opportunity which fed his interest in engineering.
The program focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), with 36 STEM professionals sharing their knowledge with the participants in a speed networking session.
Acitivities included a visit to the South Australian Museum and a session on environmental assessments, and a talk from CSIRO’s Food and Nutrition team of scientists on the different aspects of health and nutrition sciences.
The CSIRO sessions led to a two-day student led inquiry or research project with students forming teams to investigate an area of health, nutrition or environmental sciences. When the project was completed, the students presented their work to an audience in the ground floor theatre of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. Lachlan’s group investigated the native Ghost Bat for their project.
Students also participated in cross cultural learning with traditional owners and community leaders from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.
Lachlan said he and the other participants did workshops almost every day and civil engineering sparked his interest. He is interested in pursuing engineering in tertiary study.
“[I like] the fact that you get to design and see what you build,” he said.
The student said the program gave him a better insight of how knowledge translates to the real world.
One of Lachlan’s favourite things about the program was the chance to meet youth from all over Australia. He quickly made friends and enjoyed spending time with like-minded people.
“I liked all the people that were there,” he said.
ASSETS is one element of the Indigenous STEM Education program managed by CSIRO and funded by the BHP Billiton Foundation.
The initiative aims to improve participation and achievement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Lachlan is the second St Mary’s student to be chosen for ASSETS in recent years.
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