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Where did you grow up and go to school?
I grew up in Canberra and Brisbane, going through all of high school in Brisbane and enjoying the 'Sunshine State'. I had a fantastic high school biology teacher who was so enthusiastic. I remember numerous lessons in which she would jump up and down on the desk in order to make her point.
 What inspired you to do science?
I've always been interested in nature and the outdoors. I spent ages just watching the various animals around the place; birds, bugs, our pets. I was always fascinated with their behaviour and often wondered why they did the things they did. I have also always been concerned with conservation and the preservation of environment and the variety of species that it supports. Being able to contribute to positive conservation outcomes has always been a goal of mine.
After school, I spent 2.5 years living and working at an ecotourism resort in a world heritage area national park in south east Queensland. I spent a lot of my free time watching the different animals around me, and also had the opportunity to help out with a couple of the Queensland university projects that used the national park as a field site. It was while being involved in these projects, and watching the species around me, that I decided I wanted to go to uni to study zoology.
What did you study at university?
I decided to study at UTas for a couple of reasons. First, everyone I spoke to from here was very encouraging . Second, having spent some time out of school, I wanted a smaller university where I could really get to know my lecturers. And third, I'd always wanted to visit Tassie, and it's a fantastic place to study zoology and environmental based subjects. We have such an amazing diversity of environments, plants and animals here. It really is the perfect place to study anything ecology related.
What are you doing now?
Last year I finished my Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Zoology. This year, I am doing Honours in Behavioural Ecology. Basically, I have my own research project that I follow through from start to finish, writing a thesis at the end. I'm looking at individual variation in behaviour (or personality) in a native Tasmanian rodent species, the velvet-furred rat. They're quite interesting little animals, despite the fact that they bite and can really stink out a room!
I finish my honours at the end of this year. I hope to travel and perhaps do some volunteer science work before probably starting my PhD next year. I would love to be able to do some work in Africa, maybe with animals a bit bigger than my rats!
What do you love about science?
With science, I love being able to ask a question, and have the means to be able to set about answering it. It's like one big problem solving exercise. I also love the opportunities science has, and will, give me. I've had the opportunity to experience so much more of Tassie than I ordinarily would have, and already this year I've had the chance to travel to Sydney to talk about my work. I currently have colleagues in the USA, Sweden, the UK, Honduras and France, all working on science based projects, hopefully I'll be next!
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