Former student and CSIRO astronomer Shari Breen visited the school as part of the PULSE@Parkes initiative. 

The program challenges students across Australia to remotely drive the radio telescope at Parkes in New south Wales to observe pulsars, or relics of stars – and interpret the data. 

Dr Breen said she enjoyed being back at her old school and was excited to share her passion with the next generation of future astronomers. 

“I used to sit in this exact classroom and do math and I would never have thought that I would end up with a PhD in astronomy,” she said.

“It’s good for students to see what a scientist is, what they do and how to apply some of the skills they already know.” 

Year 8 student Grace Younger, 13, said she enjoyed learning more about space and astronomy. 

“It was good to see that there’s a lot of different careers in science,” Grace said.