08 Mar 2023
Alex, Madeleine, Josie and Yilin
On International Women’s Day 2023 Dickson College physics students Alex, Josie, Yilin and Madeleine reflect on what the day means to them.
“It is a celebration of all the women in the world and a recognition of the challenges that we’ve faced because of our gender. This year's theme means a lot to me particularly as someone wanting to go into an area that is still predominantly male. Because it is about supporting and empowering women and breaking down and talking about some of the barriers that may be stopping everyone from embracing gender equity.” – Alex
“To me International Women’s Day provides a reminder that change is still needed, and doable. I hope that through campaigns like this, more girls already interested in STEM will be empowered to study it, especially physics!” – Josie
“To me, this day means to empower and celebrate the accomplishments of women.” – Yilin
“I would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life studying space, involving physics and engineering. I will study space, but if this day allows me to accomplish this more easily, then I will be very grateful. If this day also encourages any of my future female colleagues to study space, then I will be very grateful for giving me the opportunity to work with them.” – Madeleine
The Dickson College students plan to continue studying science after completing year 12 and recommend other students consider studying the subject of physics which Alex sums up as the science behind how we understand the world around us.
“It underpins everything we understand about the universe,” she said.
For Madeleine, whose dream it is to study space, the decision to study physics at college level just made sense.
“I love to understand why something happens. I like being able to see and understand the relationships between different variables. I also love how it can be easily applied to everyday life.”
Yilin, too, loves the challenge of physics and what she learns from it.
“I love studying physic as the more I learn, the more curious I am about the natural world and I can ask better, more informed questions. Seeing how concepts connect to form a big picture is very exciting.
We wish the girls the best of luck completing their physics course at Dickson College.