A recent recipient of the Superstars of STEM award, Macquarie graduate Sally Hurst works in her dream role of museum education presenter at the Australian Museum.
From student to educator: Sally volunteered at the Australian Museum in Sydney while a student at Macquarie. She was then hired to be part of the museum’s public education program.
“My mum was a single parent and raised us on a farm,” Sally says. “If she ever needed to go to a cattle sale, she'd bring my sister and I and plonk us under a tree with a bag of plastic dinosaurs and we'd play all afternoon. So that's where the obsession started,” Sally says.
In high school, Sally undertook work experience at the National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra and worked at the museum on weekends before assisting with its exhibitions during a gap year. She then moved to Sydney to undertake a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Egyptian Archaeology) and Bachelor of Science (Palaeobiology) at Macquarie.
“When I finished my degree, I wasn't sure if I was ready to jump into the workplace. Also, in science industries they are often looking for people who have a master or a PhD,” she says.
“I hated the thought of having to give up either archaeology or palaeontology, so the Master of Research program provided a really amazing pathway to design my own project from scratch and do something a little bit different.
“Even though at Macquarie, archaeology is technically in the arts faculty, my supervisors in science were very open to doing a cross-disciplinary project. So when I approached them they said: ‘Great, how can we help you to make this happen?’"
'Found a Fossil' project
Sally’s Master of Research project, Found a Fossil, came about in part from a lack of knowledge and communication about how to handle heritage discoveries.
“If a member of the Australian public, a farmer or bushwalker is walking across the landscape and they uncover a fossil or Indigenous artefact, then what would they actually do with it? The legislation that surrounds all that kind of material is really hard to decipher,” she says.
“I created this project to demystify all of this information for the public and provide some straightforward guidelines and communication. So, hopefully, this heritage material can be better protected into the future.”
Finding the dream job
Sally volunteered at the Australian Museum in Sydney while a student at Macquarie, She was then hired to be part of the museum’s programming team. She moved into the visitor engagement team, which eventually led to her current role of museum education presenter.
“Talking to the public and telling these stories is definitely my favourite part of the job. There are not many people who can say that they followed their childhood dream of becoming a palaeontologist or an archaeologist, and I get to do both,” she says.
SALLY HURST
Degree: Master of Research in Palaeontology and Archaeology. (graduated in 2023).
My job: Museum education presenter at the Australian Museum, Sydney.
Three ways Macquarie supported me to be job-ready:
1. Work experience. “I was lucky enough to do multiple internships and they all complemented each other really well, and gave me different sets of skills.”
2. Networking opportunities. “The professors at Macquarie are so willing to see the students succeed, they will help you get opportunities and meet people. That was key for me getting various jobs - knowing the right people and building those networks.”
3. Communication skills. “Presenting assignments really built my communication skills, which are now a vital part of my job at the Australian Museum.”
How I apply what I learned at Macquarie in the workplace:
“At the Australian Museum, one of my tasks was to write a tour from scratch. And so for me, very luckily, we have a cabinet filled with Egyptian artefacts. Having a degree in Egyptian archaeology was really key, because I had so much knowledge about ancient Egypt, and what these objects were.”
Advice to prospective students:
“Get the most out of your university experience and choose subjects you really enjoy. If you do find you're not enjoying something you can do a course transfer. Macquarie is incredibly flexible.”
