I got into outreach by working at the Trottier Observatory! Since I was a child I have been inspired by space so I naturally gravitated towards people that had similar interests. That got me into volunteering for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) in high school, through which I was given to opportunity to work at the Trottier Observatory. By working at the Trottier Observatory,  I realized how much I love to talk to people and teach them about space and physics. I also got the opportunity to do this while working at Science World back in 2017, and even now while working at the H.R. Macmillan Space Centre.

I especially enjoy reaching out to girls and girls of colour because I didn't get to meet many women of colour in science as a child and I really want to be that role model for them. I believe that seeing women in physics or science when I was younger would have made it feel like it was not a wild idea or unattainable goal to become a scientist myself. I also enjoy reaching out to people of the public because they come from all walks of life and everyone seems to have had some type of astronomy obsession at some point in their lives. I feel like that connects us all and everyone at some point in their lives have looked up into the sky and asked themselves what else is out there. This fundamental connection that we all have with each other makes our conversations so much more meaningful. I feel like when I tell someone a cool physics or space fact, it answers only one question but inspires so many more questions. This resultant curiosity gives me hope for the future generation to keep asking questions and maybe then they will also go into science to find the answers to those questions. 

Volunteer! Volunteer work is the greatest way to get into outreach as it gets you acquainted with people in the community and you can build connections. Through those connections you can either work or volunteer to build your experience and learn more about effective outreach!

I get star-struck easily. I probably would rather have a picture of a famous person. As Troy Barnes says, "You can't disappoint a picture" 😉