Nicole Cameron
Nicole has a passion for space science and has recently been selected to attend the European Space Camp in Norway.
Kia ora! My name is Nicole Cameron and I am a friendly and curious adventurer, a science-loving, self-professed nerd, an enthusiastic learner, and a frequent ponderer of bizarre, and often, existential, problems. I live in Tauranga and I'm a Year 13 pupil at Otumoetai College. I am honored to have been selected to attend the European Space Camp, which will be held in August on a little island off Norway called Andøya. I will be able to work with like-minded students from different countries and explore the science and engineering behind astronomy and rocket physics. I am really passionate about this and hope to pursue a related career in the future.
At school, I study Physics, Chemistry, English, Geography, and Calculus, the latter which I am studying through the University of Canterbury STARS Programme. I enjoy reading, tramping, playing netball and tennis, photography, and astronomy. Next year, I plan on heading down to the University of Canterbury to study engineering, with a dream of incorporating my love of space and science into the engineering practice. To be honest, I am so overwhelmed by the different paths of study I could take, and have found it difficult to make a decision. I am inspired by all aspects of science and engineering, and could easily see myself studying anything from mathematics, to chemistry, to humanitarian engineering, to astronomy, or geography. I think that I will always be an avid learner, always wanting to discover something new.
From a young age, I often found myself throwing my head back in awe at the startling expanse of the sky above, or asking too many questions about how things work. What makes the sky blue? Why do we dream? How long would it take me to walk to the centre of the Earth? My Dad used to take my sister and I out on clear evenings, where the frost would kiss our cheeks and our toes would slowly freeze in our slippers, to gaze through his telescope up at the wonders of space. Saturn's rings, the Jewel Box, the moon's craters, Mars, Orion, and the Milky Way. I was curious about the world around me, and developed this passion as I grew up.
I am so excited to attend the European Space Camp and will highly value the shared passion, energy, creativity, and insight of the people I am yet to meet. I cannot wait for the knowledge, skills, inspiration, friendships, and broader perspectives I will acquire from this opportunity.