Ellena Black says the support of the St Andrew’s Science Department has helped her to achieve impressive results in her tertiary studies. “The support I had at St Andrew’s to extend myself, train for the Chemistry Olympiad in Tbilisi, Georgia, which was an absolute highlight, and do the Mathematics STAR course at the University of Canterbury, prepared me to finish my Bachelor of Science at the University of Auckland in just two years. I then did a year of Honours in Applied Mathematics before moving to Australia for my PhD in Quantum Chemistry at the University of Sydney.” Her PhD project involves using mathematical methods to improve algorithms that model chemistry computationally.

Ellena has been fascinated by Science and Mathematics from a young age. “I was lucky to be part of the first year of Accelerated Science at St Andrew’s, doing NCEA Level 1 Science in Year 10 and continuing in Physics, Chemistry and Calculus a year ahead from there. I am forever grateful for the support and advocacy of Mr Cummack and Mr French, who created a whole new class for us in Year 13, to extend our learning in the Sciences.”

Following her PhD, Ellena hopes to continue working in academia, both lecturing and researching.