Q: Name of the program you are enrolled in at UniSC

Bachelor of Primary Education

Q: : Name of the town you went to primary school?

Wondai, Qld

Q: How would you describe yourself when you were in Primary school Years 4 – 6?

I was a shy student in Years 4-6 who enjoyed trying new things, but stood back when engaging in activities that took me outside of my comfort zone. I engaged in class collaboration during mainstream class work such as English and Mathematics but took a step back from engaging in activities that I had a fixed mindset on. I was very optimistic about my future and I would often dream about my future career. Therefore, I enjoyed learning at school because I knew that it would help me reach my goals. My hobbies were reading, photography and creating scrapbooks.

Q: : Name of the town you went to high school?

Kingaroy, Qld

Q: Which were your favourite subjects in high school?

Maths, Humanities and Social Sciences, The Arts and Technologies

Q: How would you describe yourself when you were in High school?

In high school, I adopted a growth mindset and was pushed out of my comfort zone particularly during my year 11 and 12 design class. My design class helped me become creative and comfortable when sharing my designs. I enjoyed coming up with many prototypes of designs before my finished product because I always surprised myself with what I came up with. Persevering became quite evident in my senior years as I had to learn to juggle school and work. Although this allowed me to practice time management and I always enjoyed seeing what I accomplished when finishing assignments.

Why did you want to become a presenter?

I wanted to inspire students and support their STEM learning. As a MindSET-do presenter, I have done this whilst also learning from the students and improving my own skills.

What do you like about being a presenter?

There are so many things I like about being a MindSET-do presenter, but my favourite thing is when the classroom teacher points out a student that is disengaged or struggles with mainstream classes, but excels in the MindSET-do STEM lessons. I love seeing the passion for STEM that some students have including those students who didn’t even realise they had the passion to begin with. It shows that there are so many pathways for children to choose and every child’s path is unique to them.

If you could offer students in primary school and high school one piece of advice, what would it be?

My advice would be to try everything. You don’t know if you have a passion for something until you try it. To have a passion for something is so special, and therefore hold on to it. You are going to make mistakes, but that is your opportunity to learn from them, and to grow in your skills.

“You are going to make mistakes, but that is your opportunity to learn from them, and to grow your skills.”

Diana chirizzi