Women in Science Day - Grace

Today, February 11th, is the International Day of Women & Girls in Science. To mark it, we decided to reach out to women involved with Andover Trees who have a scientific or STEM background, and ask them to write something about their experiences. Have a look back if you missed the previous three posts, and keep an eye out for the next two.

Grace, Nature in Harmony Exchange Project youth team member: Aspiring chemical engineer

My name is Grace and I am currently in my last year of college. I will be sitting A-Levels in Biology, Chemistry and Maths in the summer then hopefully going to university to study Chemical Engineering in September.

I have always found science subjects fascinating, initially from learning about them in school but also from time spent at Harmony Woods surveying and investigating the local wildlife and planting trees. I enjoy the way biology explains the lives of other organisms and how they are adapted to their environments as well as learning about the systems and processes that take place inside our bodies to keep us alive. Chemistry seems harder to spot in the world around us but actually is everywhere. Everything is made up of atoms which are made up of protons and neutrons and electrons which react with each other to create bonds and forces which make up everything. I also enjoy maths and sometimes it feels a bit like being a detective: you get given a problem and you have to decide which skills and methods to use to solve it efficiently. Both biology and chemistry are complimented well by maths and the use of analytical skills to problem solve is very valuable in all three. The way these subjects and concepts hold such relevance to reality and explain the way the world works is one of the main reasons I find them so interesting. Also, I think it's very exciting that there is still so much left to discover and anyone could make the next big breakthrough.

When choosing a degree to study, I wanted to find one that would follow on well from my A-Levels. I heard about chemical engineering from one of my teachers at college and decided to look into it. I found that chemical engineering is a varied discipline which involves creating processes that economically and sustainably turns raw materials into useful products with as little waste as possible. I soon realised that a chemical engineer is involved in the making of almost anything; be it the food that we eat, the energy we use or the medicines we take. The prospect of being able to enter so many different industries and having the skills to create and improve processes is something I am looking forward to in the future.