• Question: Has anyone put you down or inspired you to get where you are?

    Asked by anon-217979 to Shannah, Richard, Matthew (known as Kaan by, johnpaterson, Emma, Anna on 8 Jun 2019.
    • Photo: Emma Markham

      Emma Markham answered on 8 Jun 2019:

      I didn’t have an mentors and I didn’t know anyone who had been to university, so I initially didn’t consider going to university. I went to visit a friend at university when I was 18 and that was the first time I had ever seen one and the kind of people who went to university, I was surprised they were just like me! I realised it wasn’t just for geniuses but I could do it too! I had a very supportive biology teacher which really helped me believe I could actually be a scientist.

      When I think if anyone put me down, the only instance comes to mind when I was 15 and everyone was preparing for work experience. I really wanted to work in archaeology but didn’t have parents which had any connections to anyone working in their field. I told my teacher this is what I would like to do and I applied for all the local archaeology digs and sites in the area. My teacher turned to me and told me ‘No, you will be a waitress’. I was heart broken, because in her eyes that was all I was capable of and should aspire to! I found that really hard, and did work as a waitress for work experience, but I always knew I could do something more, so I worked hard to prove her wrong. I don’t blame her, she was probably trying to be realistic and we were a poor rural school and I was only a C grade student, but it was still hard to hear and I’m glad I didn’t let her limit my aspirations.

    • Photo: John Paterson

      John Paterson answered on 10 Jun 2019:

      Not specifically about being a scientist but there have been plenty of people who have supported me or made me feel bad about myself at different points in my life. In particular I remember the headmaster at my school really didn’t like me and told me I would never amount to anything! I think he just didn’t understand who I was or what I was interested in very well.

      I think everyone has these people in their lives and it can be hard to process sometimes because it can be complicated – sometimes people who are trying to support you can actually put you down and people who are trying to criticise you can inspire you to achieve more. My headmaster certainly inspired me to prove him wrong. These things can affect you more when you’re younger but, for me, the older I got the more confident I got in who I am and what I wanted to do. It’s a bit of a cliche but the best advice I could give you would be don’t let other people tell you what you can and can’t do.

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