Portia Kalun

Portia has volunteered with Let’s Talk Science for 5 years and enjoys seeing the excitement of kids when they participate in fun, hands-on activities!

Time volunteering with Let’s Talk Science: 5 Years

Area of study: PhD Candidate in Psychology/Medical Education

Inspirational Moment: Whenever I explain my research to students, I tell them I learn about how people’s brains work, so we can teach them better. A couple of years ago I visited a Grade 2 class twice, three months apart. The second time I visited, some of the students said they recognized me, so I asked if anyone remembered what I did. One girl put up her hand and said, “You learn about how people’s brains work, so we can teach them better!” The fact that this little girl remembered one sentence I said three months ago really showed me the potential impact I was having on the youth I visited.

Favourite Let’s Talk Science volunteering activity: Weather Wonders – seeing the shaving cream “clouds” finally “rain” will never get old!

Why do you volunteer with Let’s Talk Science? My excitement about science is re-ignited every time I see how excited kids get participating in fun, hands-on activities. I also think it is so important that scientists share their knowledge with the general public and one way to facilitate this is by showing youth how important science is in our everyday lives.

Fun fact: I love science so much that I became a master of science twice.