I have been a STEM Ambassador for over twenty five years and have enjoyed every single minute of it.
In 2017, I was awarded and MBE for my outreach work, which was a huge shock and surprise to me.
Even though I have retired from fulltime employment, it does not mean that my passion for engaging with school pupils and others has stopped; it is quite the reverse. It also does not mean that I do not keep myself up to date with what is going on; rather than mulling over the environmental problems we face with environmental pollution, I am continually trying to get our young people to think outside the box and come up with solutions.
From my experience as a frontline scientist working in the marine environment, I feel that unless we educate the next generation that many important messages and lessons will be missed and harder to catch up on further along the line.
I firmly believe that by opening up the minds of young people to the exciting and productive world of all of the STEM subjects through the medium of marine or Polar research, many will follow into a career which they otherwise might never have known about or considered.
It is of course no use training talented young STEM professionals unless the government works with industry to create the culture where this talent is nurtured and thrive for the benefit of all.
In an ideal world, scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians should be held in just as much reference and awe by school pupils and others as TV celebrities and footballers. More importantly it is crucial to do everything to encourage and motivate pupils of all ages.