Tauaoa Poma
Tauaoa Poma attended the Professor Harry Messel International Science School in Sydney in 2025 and wrote a trip report following her return, reflecting on how the experience deepened her interest in pursuing a career in dentistry.
My name is Tauaoa Poma. I am of Tuvaluan descent, a small island nation in the Pacific. I was a part of the ISS2025 team of scholars. I am a year 13 student at Feilding High School and I'm currently living in Feilding, New Zealand.
How has attending ISS excited you to pursue a career in STEM? Can you elaborate on what you’d like to pursue and what has inspired this?
I would like to pursue a career in dentistry and ISS has deepened my interest in this field. It exposed me to areas of science I had not encountered before and allowed me to witness the work that happens behind the scenes. This experience has been both inspiring and motivating, and I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity.
What’s the most interesting thing you learned at ISS?
The most interesting thing I learned was about AlphaFold. I greatly enjoyed the lecture and found it fascinating to see how AI can be used by scientists for good. I learned that an AlphaFold AI can predict the folding of a protein, and it was amazing to see how years and years of work done manually can now be done at a much faster rate. It was a powerful example of how we can harness technology to support scientific discovery.
Did you learn or experience something unexpected at ISS?
I experienced great communication skills and learned inspiring leadership skills at ISS. It was an amazing feeling knowing that I could get along with like-minded people no matter their background. The atmosphere was incredibly supportive and nice to be around. It was refreshing to see others' leadership skills shine, and I gained something valuable from each and every one of them.
How can you use the knowledge you’ve gained at ISS to contribute to your wider community in the future?
I have acquired some leadership roles in my wider community, and with the leadership skills I have learnt from ISS, I look forward to putting them into practice with my wider community. I want to encourage people in my community that there are many opportunities and great and meaningful careers out there. Hearing from passionate speakers, professors and leaders opened my mind and heart to what’s possible, and I hope to pass that inspiration on to those around me.
Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?
I would definitely recommend ISS to others who want to pursue a career in science. It’s an incredible opportunity to get a glimpse at just what scientists do behind closed lab doors and to meet new people.