Alumni Stories
GRADS 2024: Isobel Walcott
“Our existence is a little blip in time, but the earth has been here for so long … and I just wanted to contribute in some small way to protecting it.”
When University of Canberra alumna Isobel Walcott travelled through the stark beauty of Western Australia’s Kimberley region a few years ago, the loves of her life – animals, the environment and wildlife conservation – banded together to help point out a clear path for her future.
“As we drove through the Kimberley, we looked out on this beautiful landscape, which was all underwater – like the Great Barrier Reef – in the Devonian period, over 400 million years ago,” says Isobel, who graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours in Science and Technology), and received a University Medal in September.
“We watched the wildlife change as we travelled. It was all so moving, and reminded me of how briefly we’re here.”
The transformative trip cemented Isobel’s desire to study environmental conservation – and after a few years of uncertainty, that came as a huge relief.
Isobel grew up in Melbourne, spent her teen years in Hobart, then moved back to Melbourne at 17.
“I was doing well academically, but then had to drop out of high school because I was facing mental health issues, and had to seek treatment,” she says.
“At that point, I thought I wouldn’t be able to go back to study, or go to uni ever – and I was devastated.”
But after a one-year break, Isobel was able to finish her high school via TAFE in Melbourne, and was admitted to Melbourne University to study mathematics.
“I love maths and how it has such wide applications, and I was proud to be going to Melbourne Uni – but then I didn’t fully feel like I belonged there,” Isobel says.
“I was, by that point, older than many of the other students, and working to support myself.
“[I was studying maths but] There was this particular unit on Australian wildlife that I loved. And I began to wonder if I had neglected my passion for nature, and if I should have followed it instead.”
Nonetheless, Isobel stuck it out for over two years, before taking that fateful trip across the top of Australia.
“While we were on the trip, my then-partner got a job offer in Canberra,” she says. “I started looking at environmental science courses here, and found ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø.”
To Isobel, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø’s small size was a point in its favour.
“It felt like a place where you could be connected, and create personal relationships with the people you were learning from, and learning with,” she says.
“Where you could discuss your interests with your lecturers, rather than being just one of the 500 or 1,000 students in a class.”
Isobel felt like less of an outlier, because of the diverse age ranges in her cohort.
“There was also a lot of support at the uni, which was very easy to access – things like the Peer Assisted Learning Sessions (PALS) by Study Skills – and I really appreciated that,” Isobel says.
“I still had to consistently address my ongoing mental health issues and the Medical and Counselling Centre really helped with that. All the structures were in place to help me succeed.”
Isobel recalls a pivotal moment in her Data Analysis unit, when her class welcomed a guest lecturer.
“He talked about how he used statistical methods to explain biology – that’s the basis of biostatics, and it sounded like a dream to me!”
That guest lecturer was Professor Bernd Gruber, and the guest lecture made Isobel really look forward to his biostatics unit in the next semester.
“I couldn’t get enough of it – it was just so exciting to see the range of mathematical applications in ecological research,” she says.
“For our Professional Practice unit, Bernd gave me a research project that involved using population genetics and maths theories to investigate if a particular gene theory he had would hold.”
It was Isobel’s first foray into the research world, and she really enjoyed it – so much, that she worked as a research technician within the Faculty of Science and Technology for two years, while studying.
On graduating, she decided to explore another facet of research – stepping out of the lab and into the business side of things, with a role as Business Development Manager for the Centre for Applied Water Science (CAWS).
“It’s such a cool opportunity, to gain fundamental knowledge around how research functions administratively, an understanding of the Centre’s wide range of projects, and to build skills and relationships as well,” she says.
“It’s a role that will really stand me in good stead if I go on to lead my own research projects.”
Importantly to Isobel, she’s also still doing some science within her role – which often sees her engaging with many of her former undergrad cohort, now out in the field.
“A very good friend of mine now works at the Gininderry Conservation Trust, and I go out and do water sampling there. It’s been amazing for us to experience working together this way, knowing that we both started out and came up together,” she says.
“I now work with people who taught me, and I’m still having imposter syndrome around it!” she says.
“But I think that can be a good driver, if it pushes you to do better, be better. I think I’m still learning how to acknowledge my own achievements, but the bottom line is that I’m really enjoying this role.”
She’s also finding that working in the sector is helping her face the challenge of climate fatigue – the helplessness and overwhelm so many feel in the face of climate change.
“It feels like we’re being inundated with bad news all the time, trying to navigate this feeling of doom,” Isobel says.
“Working in this field is a great balance against that, because you see all the really positive things that so many people are doing. There are lots of little good news stories around, you just need to know where to look.”
As a woman in STEM, Isobel notes that there are still fewer women role models, with fewer still rising to top positions in the sector – and throughout academia.
“That’s one reason it’s been so lovely engaging in the lab group, with CAWS and the Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics (CCEG) – seeing so many intelligent women doing brilliant science,” she says.
“I recently went to a conference in the US, and there was a large number of young women in their 20s and 30s attending, which facilitated such a supportive culture. I think that, in time and with work, as more women reach higher levels, there will be an overall positive culture shift.”
Isobel’s plan for now is to work, save, enjoy life – and start a PhD in the next few years.
“I’m a work in progress, as we all are,” she says. “I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there, if you know where you want to go. Right now, I’m focused on enjoying the journey.”
Words by Suzanne Lazaroo, photos by Liam Budge.