Science student volunteers her way to success

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Samantha Fowler wearing "Let's talk science" t-shirtBy Andreea Perescu

Samantha Fowler wants you to get excited about science.

This term, she secured her dream co-op position as an Outreach Associate at Let’s Talk Science outreach Waterloo, a charitable organization with programs that span over 40 post-secondary outreach sites. Her hands-on role has allowed her to do what she excels at, which is to educate students of all ages about the value of science. Fowler organizes over twenty Let’s Talk Science workshops a week.

“I heard about Let’s Talk Science when I volunteered for the University of Waterloo’s Science Open House in my first year,” said Fowler. “I had the most amazing day volunteering in the physics room, even though I wasn’t a physics student, and I knew that I wanted to continue. The next chance I got, I signed up to become a volunteer.”

The organization delivers unique learning programs to children and youth across Canada. Beyond outreach, Let’s Talk Science also features four additional programs: Let’s Talk Science ChallengeIdeaParkTomatosphere and CurioCity. Each program is dynamic, offering students a variety of approaches. Tomatosphere even sends tomatoes into space!

Entering her third year Bachelor of Science in psychology with a biology minor, Fowler’s enthusiasm for Let’s Talk Science comes through in her work ethic. Beyond prepping and organizing outreach events, Fowler designed her own workshop to help spread awareness of mental illness.

“I have always been interested in mental health because people don’t talk about it even when it is so prevalent. You’re allowed to call in sick because you have the flu, but not because your anxiety is too severe to get out of bed that day,” explained Fowler. “One of the new workshops I helped develop for the summer is called The Science of Mind Reading. It is a psychology kit that ties in preexisting activities with new activities I found. It is intended to teach the students about the biology and psychology that controls our behaviour, and how we can manipulate or trip up our brain!”

Now, Fowler is set on pursuing a long-term role within the organization. “Let’s Talk Science is the reason behind my new career path,” said Fowler. “I came into university dead set on entering neuroscience research, but Let’s Talk Science showed me my passion for teaching and education.”