Last week Edinburgh Science held its very first online Careers Hive event for secondary school children and their teachers. The event ran over the whole week and included talks, an exhibition and a workshop to 2,305 students from all over Scotland. In my role as a volunteer STEM Ambassador, I joined the event on the Friday to chat with groups of S1-S3 pupils and teachers about how I came to be where I am in terms of my career. I also discussed things that I enjoy about my job, and those areas that are more challenging.

The event was run via an online platform called Gather Town, which allowed for pupils to interact with a variety of activities such as whiteboards, games, watching videos, as well as video conferencing. As a volunteer I had my video feed on and the pupils could interact either using voice or text chat whilst having their their cameras off.  Being a tech fan, I loved the system, it was just like playing a game really. It was great to be able to do some real life STEM Ambassador work as well, as it’s been difficult to work with schools since the Covid pandemic started. I was placed in the Built and Connect Zone (the lower left quadrant shown in the map below) with other people who worked in IT and engineering.

There were lots of chats with the other volunteers and participants about when you decide what you want to do in life and the choices you make, both in terms of subjects at school and outside of education. I think there was a general consensus that people change their minds numerous times throughout their lives, and that no choices are wrong. It’s always possible to plot a new course. After all as well as having a career in technology, about 5 years ago I trained as a fitness instructor, and when I grow up I’m going to be a private detective – Pryer PI!

I’m looking forward to lots more STEM Ambassador activities as things open up again, including another Lego event soon! – Kirsty