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Alan Chen was the Valedictorian of the Class of 2018, and winner of the Philip Bamford Memorial Prize. When the prize was established in 1990, the Bamford family asked that each recipient write to the Principal after their first post-Radford year, telling their own “Life after Radford” story.  

Here are some extracts from Alan’s letter, as he reflected on the 18 months since he left Radford, including the challenges of university study during COVID-19 restrictions.

Despite my keen passion for chemistry and biology, I realised late 2018 that I did not want to abandon my other interests in analytical writing and creative arts. While science would be my main focus, I wanted to pursue an area of study that would allow me to exercise more of my strengths. In the end, the University of New South Wales was able to provide that opportunity through a double degree Bachelor of Advanced Science and Social Research & Policy, which perfectly fit my interests as a double-Science double-English senior school student.

2019 would prove to be an extremely intense year for me as a first-year, interstate university student, living on my own for the first time. Academic stress remained an unyielding, perpetual constant for me in the first year. UNSW was unrolling its first year of a trimester system, and semester breaks no longer aligned for me and my Radford peers back in Canberra. I am privileged to be a member of the residential New College on campus, and I have made many new friends to endure the tough trimesters with.

I was invited to participate in UNSW’s Talented Students Program (TSP) run by the Science faculty. Through TSP, I was given the opportunity to meet many like-minded students in STEM, and to join an academic research group. I was able to shadow Naresh Kumar’s organic chemistry group and obtain a strong sense of scientific research. Kumar’s research into synthesising novel molecules with antibiotic and anticancer properties helped me to fully realise a love for the diverse potential of organic synthesis, and at the end of 2019, I declared Chemistry as my Advanced Science major.

Meanwhile, my study of Social Research and Social Policy – the other half of my double degree – continues to be of great interest, and sometimes, a welcome break from the calculative nature of Chemistry. After a year of both science and social science courses, I recognised that social and public policy plays an immense role in both the access, use and dissemination of scientific research to modern society. While I am still leaning towards academic research as a career goal, I believe a profession that could marry the science and policy aspects together would also be amazing!

The first six months of 2020 have also proven to be very intense. The UNSW Kensington campus is unfortunately still in limited use, due to COVID-19 restrictions. This has meant that my Chemistry cohort has been significantly disadvantaged in learning the hands-on laboratory techniques required of second-year students. All our assessment has been moved online, which has been both mentally and emotionally taxing. I am quite worried about how my peers and I will fare in the future, particularly on lacking the laboratory skills required for more advanced Chemistry courses. However, this pandemic has only strengthened my resolve in pursuing a career where scientific advancements are needed now more than ever.

On the plus side, being in isolation has allowed me more time to pursue my hobby in creative arts – for example, creating a digital photo study of Keanu Reeves. Right now, I am continuing to work hard in my studies while trying to maintain a good work-life balance. I remain excited and hopeful as my courses become specialised to the point where I can fully determine a niche where my expertise can be put to the best use.