Esther-Cooper
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Esther Cooper

Growing up in a small country town I was not exposed to science until I moved on to high school in the city. I was unaware that everything we do in life has a science background, one that is thriving with people who are looking for new discoveries in every aspect of life, from medical research, to what I now study, agricultural sciences.

I first fell in love with science when, in Grade 10, Dr Richard Doyle, the Deputy Head of the School of Agricultural Science at UTAS, visited my school to talk about Agricultural Science. He said some interesting things about what the university offered and he also said that “smart people can make a lot of money milking cows”. He made me want to learn how to milk cows! So from then on my focus has been on Ag Science.

I won the Rural Application Award at the Women in Agriculture Science Competition in 2007 for my Ryegrass seed germination experiment. My aim was to get grass seed to germinate faster so that more of it could be grown in a shorter period of time.

Since graduating college and being accepted into the UTAS School of Agricultural Science, I have studied a wide variety of courses, from botany to economics, and realised the variety of areas that you can become involved in through an agricultural science degree. My goal and focus now is to graduate with honours in agronomy and later do research into poppy production.

The great thing about studying Ag Science at UTAS is that everyone gets to know each other in the course, you get a lot of support from your professors as well as your fellow students, you will always have a secure future as we will always need to produce food in its many forms… and of course there is the Farm Fun Day that happens every year.

For more information: www.utas.edu.au/agricultural-science/home; www.picse.net/UTAS/index.htm