Student Wins Science Ambassador Award
A Lancaster University student has won the Young Science and Engineering Ambassador of the Year Award.
Sophie Michel, who is studying Physics, has been active in promoting science in schools as well as in recruiting other students as ambassadors.
She said she was delighted to receive her award – a glass plaque – at a ceremony in Chorley organised by the educational charity SETPOINT Lancashire. The award is for Ambassadors under the age of 25 in the county.
Sophie has visited 35 primary schools in Lancashire during her three years as an Ambassador. Her voluntary work has involved her teaching the entire year’s electricity syllabus for Year 6 primary school pupils in just one day as part of the Bright Sparks project.
She said: “The children love it – we set up all the equipment and we build a circuit and they really enjoy it. They say they didn’t know science could be so interesting. I show them what good fun it can be and tell them what it’s like being at university so they know where they can go if they do well at school.”
Sophie has also persuaded other students from Lancaster University to volunteer in schools as part of a national drive to increase the numbers of schoolchildren taking science subjects.
Barbara Tigar, the manager of SETPOINT Lancashire, said Sophie is an outstanding Ambassador.
“She’s very willing, very enthusiastic and proactive in getting other people involved. It’s great to have students as role models because there isn’t so much of an age gap with the pupils, they speak the same language and are much less formal, so the pupils can relate to them much more easily.”
SETPOINT Lancashire is part of the Science, Engineering and Technology Network (SETNET) www.setnet.org.uk that aims for every young person to have the opportunity to participate in an appropriate Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths (STEM) activity linking schools to business and the 'world of work'.