Peer Mentor Profile

Emma Thornton - Air Traffic Controller

Studied: Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Nanotechnology , La Trobe University. Mentor: 2007 - 2010.

I applied for the In2science programme during my second year of university. I applied as I believed that not only would the programme allow me to work as a volunteer in the community and get some time away from university but also to allow me to decide if I wanted to continue pursuing a career in science or in teaching.

I found that my time at the many schools was a welcome change from classes and homework. In the classroom I was applying the knowledge from my studies and I gained a boost in confidence in my knowledge as well as having a lot of fun every week.

I found talking to large groups became a lot easier, especially after participating in three In2nanotech roadshows (meeting two new schools a day for a week makes talking to new groups relatively straightforward).

In the classroom I also felt that the teacher appreciated having an extra person in the classroom and hopefully the students learnt that not all physicists are men who look like Einstein, and that anyone who wants to study science can.

After finishing my studies in 2010 I applied to become an air traffic controller and am currently in training for that role.

Emma