OSA Ambassador - Shaya

We are excited to have Shaya as an OSA Ambassador for 2024. You may have seen Shaya before as she was our 2023 Trophy Winner for her Models & Inventions entry VAMOS. Shaya is an experienced entrant and is excited to share her passion for science.

Get to know Shaya!

How did you first get involved in OSA?
I was introduced to OSA when I was in Year 5 at Norwood PS. A few of my close friends had participated the previous year and enjoyed making and presenting their submission. As I was also very interested in science and technology at the time, I thought this was a good opportunity to participate and explore my interest in an actual science exhibition. I entered my exhibit in the ‘models & inventions’ category, and it was about Artificial Intelligence neural networks, the one featured in my project focusing on the process of how certain characteristics in fruits can prompt an Artificial Intelligence model to identify the specific type of fruit.

Why do you participate?
I participate mainly because of my love for science and technology. I have a deep interest in STEM subjects and enjoy exploring this interest in actual science competitions.

What advice would you give to other OSA entrants?
I would tell other OSA entrants to approach the competition with the desire to learn something new that interests them and to give it their full effort. I think if you approached the competition and only submitted a project about something you already knew and didn’t completely enjoy, your project wouldn’t even be considered for an award. That’s because I think the OSA goes both ways. Only by actually deriving pleasure from your work, and by feeling fulfilled by it, and feeling like you’ve actually learnt something new and interesting; will you be able to reap the benefits. And when all your hard work, sweat and tears have been recognised by OSA, it’s just a feeling worth all of it.

What is your favourite project that you have submitted?
I think my favourite project (apart from the VAMOS), would be my paper, Bioluminescence – A superior tool in COVID 19 vaccine and drug developer’s toolkit, that I wrote in Year 7(2022). I think it is my favourite, as this paper was the culmination of my practice in writing science writings the year before. In 2021, I had begun writing science writings, with my article about utilisation of the ISS after 2024 which won an Oliphant award. It was with this paper that I discovered my love of writing scientific writings. After honing my abilities, I embarked on my long journey of writing my Bioluminescence paper, which involved quite a lot of research about complex science topics, which was like a whole other world for me at that age as I had previously not yet learnt complex science. That year I had also learnt how to do in-text citations, which was yet another challenge for me. But I think that is the beautiful thing about Oliphant. As I persevered, and utilised the Internet to gain basic knowledge of all the topics I was writing about, I learned a lot about microbiology and chemistry that I hadn’t known before. Writing the paper also presented me with an interest in biology too. And I think because of all the countless benefits I gained as I wrote that paper, it is definitely one of my favourites!