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Students at the new John Monash Science School (JMSS) recently had a rare opportunity to listen to the person after whom one of their houses is named when Nobel Laureate Professor Elizabeth Blackburn AC visited to share memories from her own school days.
Growing up in Tasmania as one of seven siblings, Professor Blackburn dived into the world of biology after starting to observe the world around her.
"My interest in science began with things that are really not that unusual – animals and the things around me. And I really liked animals a lot and I started thinking and reading and started realising that the molecules in biology, in cells, must be really where you should be if you want to understand biology," she said.
"When I was at school, the thought of science was okay, but it wasn't something that people really thought a particularly important part of your education. In my own mind I developed an interest in science... I had great education in things like English, but I had to go to the local high school to take physics classes in the evening, because they didn't have that at my school."
Her advice: keep asking questions, and choose research in an area that is not yet popular.
After her speech, the Nobel laureate signed the purple cape representative of Blackburn House.
Principal Peter Corkill said the school was privileged by her visit.
"For us, and for our community, we see you as a role model, and a shining light for what's possible when people follow their passion with equal measures of endeavour, work ethic and commitment," he said.
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