Humans of Carey: Jodie O'Connor

Science teacher and mother of Carey students Bridgette and Ned

As a child of two science teachers, the probability that I would end up being a teacher of Science myself was always high.

I did initially resist my destiny and forge my own path as a mechanical engineer. For 12 years I worked in a variety of engineering roles at Snowy Hydro; both on the hydro turbines in the Snowy Mountains and the gas turbines in Victoria. I was fortunate enough to work there during a period of growth and diversification and I had many wonderful opportunities to see ‘real science’ in action. From helicopter surveys to assess the impact of water releases, to being knee-deep in grime at the bottom of a dismantled turbine, to flying to Europe to present at conferences, I did it all. However, in the back of my head, there was always a niggling voice reminding me that this was not my natural habitat. After volunteering through the CSIRO ‘Scientists in Schools’ program at

several schools, I knew it was time for that change; so, I packed up my steel-capped boots and hi-vis safety gear and swapped the rusty interior of a gas turbine for a classroom full of teenagers and I have not looked back.

Being a Science and Physics teacher, one of my main aims is to make the topics we are covering as relevant to the students as possible. Having seen so much science in action from my engineering days certainly makes that a little bit easier.

However, as someone who is never content with relying on past laurels, I applied for a two-week Physics teachers’ program at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland this July (pictured). I was one of only two Australians chosen in 2023. In July of this year, I joined

Along with 43 other teachers from around the world, Jodie was selected to visit the Large Hedron Collider at CERN in Switzerland this year to participate in onsite visits and workshops.

43 other teachers from 32 countries to learn more about particle physics and particle accelerators, visit iconic scientific facilities and develop our craft as Physics teachers. We visited facilities that make anti-matter (yes, just like in The Da Vinci Code), travelled 100 metres under the ground to the place where they smash protons together to recreate conditions similar to the Big Bang and saw the testing of a chamber used to detect neutrinos, the elusive ‘ghost particles’. Sharing these experiences and stories with my students, colleagues and beyond, plus the challenge of thinking about how to expose a broader range of students to the wonders of Physics, gives me so much joy and makes me even more certain of the decisions that got me to where I am today.