Graduate Profile: Amy Willott

My degree was a Bachelor of Science (Marine Science) major in Marine Biology, including a 4th year of study doing honours. Marine Science was a strange choice of degree for a girl from the wheatbelt town of Narrogin. My family always used to holiday on the coast, and I found myself missing the beach a lot when holidays were over. I decided when I was 13, on a trip to Ningaloo Reef, that I wanted to study Marine Biology.

I enjoyed the third year of the course most as it was more focussed on marine science rather than general botany and zoology. The highlight of my whole course was a field trip in third year to Shark Bay for one week. We camped for a week on Faure Island, south of Monkey Mia, and spent our time working on mini research projects in small groups. It was a fantastic setting and a very enjoyable week.

I now work for Scitech in the Kids' Science State. I spent the first 18 months of my employment travelling around WA with the Science Roadshow, presenting a whole range of science programmes to students from kindergarten to year 10. Now, my main role is developing a new travelling maths programme, the Maths Factory. I am also developing a new show for the Science Roadshow on biodiversity.

Having a strong background in science has helped me greatly in my career. Also, I gained some presenting experience, to both academics and general public, during my honours year, which has also been a great help. I didn't consider science communication as a career before I started working at Scitech. I now have a passion for it and Scitech is a fantastic place to work. I can see myself staying in this line of work for some time.

I would recommend the course to others, as it gives a strong background in general science in first year, then specialises more and more in second and third years. The course is also great because it has some choice, you can tailor the course to suit your interests and needs.