Careers in STEAM – Jessica Coldrey

We were very excited to be given the opportunity to go out to Mater Christi Christian College to deliver our Careers in STEAM presentation and workshop with our Artist in Residence Jessica Coldrey.

Due to Covid and the restrictions we decided to take our Careers in STEAM talk to Mater Christi, when we arrived first thing in the morning we were shown to the schools library where the students waited eagerly to hear from Jessica.

The students loved hearing from Jess as she told them about her journey of studying and internships with various companies. The students were highly engaged with Jess’ presentation and asked her many questions at the end.

Jess conducted a visual arts workshop with the students, getting them to think about where they saw themselves after leaving high school and draw what they thought their Instagram posts would be. The students loved the workshop and were happy to discuss and share their work with their peers at the end. It gave students a different way to think about their career pathways and where they saw themselves after high school.

Review from Jessica Coldrey:

It was so rewarding to talk with the Mater Christi STEM students and hear about their dreams for the future. Daydreaming is often discouraged, but I believe it’s one of the most important skills young people can have – dreaming of a better world for themselves and their communities. The activities I ran helped students get out of their comfort zones by drawing their future Instagram grid filled with things from skydiving and backpacking to inventing robots and studying at world-class universities.

I loved reflecting on the experiences and mentors that influenced my path from art into STEM and sharing with students how following your passions and “watching the world with glittering eyes” can help you discover new interests.