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Photo by Corey Symon

Powering Potential, inspiring!

Corey Symon —

At the start of the school holidays Liam Hewson and I were selected to attend Powering Potential - a three day Science Programme run by the Royal Society Te Aparangi.

Along with 38 other students from around the country, we worked together in groups of five to answer a big science question posed by a leading scientist in their chosen field. Over three intense days we worked in our teams, researching our question, talking to scientists, and being seriously confused - all working towards presenting a solution to the rest of the groups, the scientists, and figures in the science community at the end of three days. 

The fun didn’t stop at night either. With many social activities jam packed into our limited time, evenings were kept very busy and we had no time to stop. Highlights included Mt Victoria at 10pm, milkshakes (cheers Liam), and a very fancy dinner under the planetarium at Space Place.

The first day I was very nervous, arriving in Wellington way too early, busing to the royal society, and introducing ourselves to everyone many times as more and more people arrived. We met our groups and anxiously waited to get our questions, an agonising ordeal as we didn’t get them until after lunch. 

My group and I were lucky enough to work with Gertje Petersen of Abacus Bio. Our question - “Should regulation/legislation be the same for genetically modified organisms and genetically edited organisms”. Our first reaction - “aren’t these the same thing?” After much confusion, debating, arguing, and excessive use of the floor, we ended up in the same place as we started - a big circle of confusion that kept going around and around. We pushed on through, and soon we knew how they were different and what we needed to do. 

The panicking hadn’t stopped though, we needed to finish research, discuss stances, and figure out a solution - all with D-day approaching. As we entered the last day, the work room was a flurry of tired, stressed activity. With several run throughs and a 4pm deadline to meet, everyone was hurrying to finish and learn their presentations. With quite a few curveballs throughout the day, my team and I managed to finish, and with much relief we could now focus on the evening presentation.

Powering Potential 2018 was a once in a lifetime experience, and was made so special and enjoyable by the amazing people I experienced it with. It really taught me a lot about working as a team and what science in the real world can look like. It was an immensely inspiring time and for those that can, I would definitely recommend applying for Powering Potential 2019. 

Corey Symon