Shalin Shah
Shalin has just returned from attending Future Experiences in Agriculture, Science & Technology. He enjoyed learning about the different areas of science and is very keen to pursue his dream of studying aerospace engineering.
Hello I'm Shalin Shah from Auckland. I am currently a year 13 student at Mount Albert Grammar School. I was born in Gujarat, India, in the midst of a magnitude 7.7 earthquake and ever since my life has been full of movement. I came to New Zealand first in 2002 and lived in Auckland for 5 years until we had to return to India due to unfortunate social circumstances. I did my primary and intermediate schooling in India before we decided to come back to New Zealand in 2015. Since then, I have been attending Mount Albert Grammar School.
From a very young age, I have been very interested in the areas of STEM, especially science and engineering. I was always fascinated (and still am) by how much science affects our everyday lives. If you think about it, almost everything around you today has benefited from advancements in technology, whether it be the apple you just ate or, the Apple you may be reading this on. This omnipresence of science pulls me in and makes me want to learn more everyday as it shows me that there so much to learn about, and what you learn will never be enough. I intend on studying aerospace engineering at university, as flight is something that amazes me the most.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to be provided with the opportunity of attending FEAST (Future Experiences in Agriculture, Science & Technology) at UQ Gatton in Queensland, Australia. It was a fun 5-day experience where we attended lectures, workshops and did activities in scientific fields such as equine science, horticulture, anatomy, agribusiness etc. Although very different from the area of study I want to pursue at university, I still found FEAST very enriching as I had had very little exposure to these areas of science in the past. I am thankful to Royal Society Te Apārangi for this wonderful opportunity that has not only made my school and family proud, but also helped me learn new things and expanded my knowledge in other areas of science.