Emma Hutchinson

I'm a year 12 student from Whangarei Girls High School. I’m one of the students chosen to attend the 2019 Harry Messel International Science School. One of the things that excites me most about this international science opportunity is meeting more like-minded, intelligent, scientific and adventurous people from all over the globe. Like many New Zealanders, I’ve always loved the outdoors; tramping, sailing and mountain biking. Aside from this, I’ve always been happiest in social situations surrounded by people.

In 2017, I went on a language exchange to Spain for just over four months. This involved going out of my comfort zone and into a place where I had to re-learn how to communicate. This left me with basic fluency in Spanish and with an itch to see the world and look after it in order to allow others to be able to have the same type of experiences on Earth that I had. I also left motived to take every opportunity that came my way. However, the main thing that I left with were questions. What was it about the environment and conditions in Spain that were different from home? And most importantly; how could I gain the knowledge to inspire and motivate others to see the world from a scientific perspective in order to help and advance our societies while still considering its environmental effects? 

I am currently studying math, English, biology, chemistry, physics and history in my second to last year at school. I am unsure around what I want to do or study in the future. Hopefully, the Harry Messel International Science School will give me some ideas and expose me to a wide variety of careers and fields of study. I really just can’t wait to see what’s in store!