Twitter is a great source of information. It helps me to stay on top of my interests including climate science, COVID-19, and the latest news from Sri Lanka. Apart from the times when I can end up mindlessly scrolling through tweets, Twitter has been a great platform for me to improve as a budding science communicator. One such opportunity appeared on my timeline a couple of weeks ago. Dr Shane Huntington had called out for applications for the 6th round of #20PhDs20mins – a live radio show, where 20 PhD students get about a minute to talk about their research. The application was straight forward – we had to email two sentences describing our research. So I emailed him and didn’t think about it again.
A week later, I woke up to a tweet by Dr Shane that said I was one of the 20 PhD students selected for the show! I was so excited, and it took a while before it dawned on me that I would be going on live radio for the first time in my life (silent scream!). The radio show was scheduled for Sunday 22nd August. On Saturday, the 20 of us had a briefing with Dr Shane via Zoom. It was nice to get to know everyone else taking part and reassuring to know that everyone felt nervous! On the day of the show, yours truly was up from 6.30 am feeling nervous and anxious. I tried to calm myself down by saying this couldn’t be worse than my annual postgraduate reviews! We logged in a couple of minutes before 11am for a final briefing and audio and mic check. The Zoom chat was already firing up with messages of support for each other. I was the first to be interviewed and needless to say the nerves were really getting to me. The day before Dr Shane had told us that being nervous was not a bad thing, it only meant that you cared. Time is a relative concept. While doing a plank, a minute can seem like forever; but on live radio, I didn’t even feel the time go by. And before I knew it, Dr Shane was thanking me for being on the show. And just like that, it was over. The adrenaline rush that came with it was great! I muted myself and opened the group chat to find so many messages from the other participants. It was heart-warming to say the least. So instead of mentally ruminating what I had said, I was peacefully reading all the messages (and also listening to the others!). The transition between each of us was seamless. You could tell Dr Shane was a pro! It was so inspiring to hear about the timely research everyone else was working on. And it was even nicer to see how we all rallied around together supporting and encouraging one another. Dr Shane is an amazing host and made sure we all felt comfortable when we were on air. I’m so happy that my first live radio experience was in such a safe environment. When I look back at this experience, I’m a little (pleasantly) surprised at the lack of hesitation to apply for this show. I like how I am stepping out of my comfort zone to pursue my interests. I like to think that growth begins where your comfort zone ends. Answering questions about my PhD research on live radio was a great learning experience for me. The individuals I met through the show and the sense of camaraderie we shared, were a welcome change to the lockdown fatigue that’s slowly creeping on me. And the nerves were so totally worth it! Listen here to the recording of the show, for a casual dose of science :)
2 Comments
8/28/2021 01:18:55 pm
Hi Charuni
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Charuni Pathmeswaran
9/5/2021 05:56:32 pm
Hi Shane,
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AuthorBudding climate scientist from Sri Lanka, currently pursuing a PhD on heatwaves, at the Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC) at UNSW, Sydney. Believes in using effective science communication to bridge the gap between science and society :) Archives
June 2021
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