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Asked by kerrimat to Enda, Jean, Kate, Kev, Tim on 15 Nov 2012.
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Jean Bourke answered on 15 Nov 2012:
My parents always told me to do what I wanted to do. They have always been really supportive and I feel very lucky. When they found out I was interested in science they were encouraging. They never really had to nag me to study (at least not science) as I found it so interesting I enjoyed it.
When I was young we’d always watch documentaries like ones by David Attenborough so I’ve always had a bit of science in my life! Since I started studying science they ask me lots of questions, just like you guys are doing now. Dad in particular has gotten really into physic and he loves reading books about it.
They are both really happy that I have learned lots of interesting things and can share my knowledge with them an others.
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Enda O'Connell answered on 16 Nov 2012:
Hi Kerrimat
My parents were always really supportive of me, my brother and my two sisters when we were in school and university. We lived on a farm in Galway and there was always lots of work to do but they made sure we did all of our homework before we were able to go outside and help. They always encouraged us to do whatever subjects we liked and never put pressure to become something we didn’t want to be.
Before they retired my mum was a nurse and my dad was a psychiatric nurse so there were always medical textbooks lying around the house when we were young. Thinking back, that’s probably where I became interested in science and medicine and how the body works. When I was young, I read a lot (I still do although there are a lot more distractions now, like the internet and my two year old son Charlie) and my mum brought us to the library every week, where i read every science book i could find.
When I was in UCD my parents would always ask about the different subjects I was taking, and my dad was delighted I started specialising in Microbiology as he he worked for a while in the Microbiology lab in HB Icecream when he was younger, so could tell me all about bacteria and fungi. Then during my PhD when I was working on a research project of my own, they would always “Have you made any breakthroughs yet?” It became a bit of a running joke in my house…
When i got the job in NUI Galway they were delighted, mainly because I was moving closer to home but also because the job was in human biology, which is much easier to understand than my work in UCD. So overall I have to say my parents were hugely encouraging and I don’t think I’d be where I am today without them.
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Tim Downing answered on 17 Nov 2012:
Hi Kerrimat,
Yes my parents did. As a child, they always made sure myself and my brother & sister had access to more science comics, books, videos and tapes (before CDs!) than we could read or watch. Likewise, at school we had regular nature classes where we got to study the outdoors: trees, insects, the weather.
Science is a fundamental subject, so my parents encouraged me to do them it at school, and because I was interested in biology, I did this and chemistry for the Leaving Cert. Doing at least one science subject for the leaving cert is wise because it may more courses accessible, and the principles between biology, chemistry and physics are all similar. Since I always had an interest in genetics and evolution, choosing a college course was not difficult, but my parents also provided me with the confidence to pursue my interests rather opt for what was popular or perceived to be easier.
Doing science at college doesn’t make you a scientist – there are many further steps along the journey. So after my undergrad degree I did further college work as a postgrad doing a Master degree and a PhD degree, which is where you learn how to do research, and acquire skills that enable you to be a scientist. I was fortunate that my Dad is a lecturer in electronic engineering – so this meant he could help a lot not just at school but also in understanding what options to pursue after each step at college.
Tim
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