A Whale-Sized Reflection on a Life I Never Planned

Seeing my story captured in the recent Macquarie University Lighthouse article has made me pause and reflect—not just on where my career has taken me, but on why I chose this path in the first place.

When I was a little girl growing up on a farm outside Canberra, I simply wanted to work with dolphins. I could never have imagined that childhood obsession would eventually lead me to whales, Antarctica, research, science communication, international adventures—and, most importantly, people.

Looking back, my journey has certainly not been linear.

If there is one thing I hope my work contributes to, it is not simply more knowledge about whales. It is a generation of people who feel empowered to care, question, learn and act.

Perhaps that is the legacy I'm really working towards.

Not something I leave behind—but something that keeps swimming forward.

Read the Macquarie University Lighthouse article here.