For many of us, rewarding ourselves for succeeding in our professional lives usually looks like a nice dinner out, or a relaxing weekend getaway.
However, when it came time for Shelley Rowntree to treat herself after reaching some milestones at work, the choice of reward looked a little different.
“I decided to go back to university and study botany as a gift to myself after so many years of learning what I needed to know for my job in information technology,” she says. “My first degree, which was a Bachelor of Mathematics, gave me a great career, but I have always been concerned about conservation and biodiversity.”
After unearthing a deep-rooted love of systematics, Shelley discovered it had the potential to blossom into something more fruitful.
“I realised that I could make a tangible contribution to our biodiversity knowledge at a time when the loss of species is so critical. One of the things I really love about it is the variety. I can spend days in the field, collecting and observing plants, then quiet time in the herbarium, then challenging days working on data analysis. And what’s not to love about plants?”
When she decided to return to study, Shelley had a demanding full-time job and an established life in Sydney, meaning there wasn’t a lot of time for her to stop and smell the roses. Because of this, she decided to enrol part-time in a Bachelor of Plant Science (now known as Bachelor of Science) as an online student.
Once she’d completed her undergraduate degree, Shelley and her partner decided to take the plunge and move to Armidale to undertake her Honours project. However, lockdowns and a tornado hitting the campus meant the year got off to an unexpected rocky start.
Shelley says the support of her supervisors, Associate Professor Rose Andrew and Emeritus Professor Jeremy Bruhl from UNE, and Karen Wilson AM and Dr Russell Barrett from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, helped her jump the many hurdles that came her way.
Image: Shelley Rowntree (centre) with her supervisors, Associate Professor Rose Andrew (left) and Emeritus Professor Jeremy Bruhl (right).
“I had an amazing team who brought technical and research skills, vast botanical knowledge, life experience and compassion. I can’t stress enough how important they were in getting me through this time.
In the end, the move to the New England paid off. Late last year, Shelley graduated with First Class Honours, receiving the University Medal for her academic prowess. She has also been named this year’s recipient of the Edgar H. Booth Memorial Prize and Medal, and is now embarking on a PhD.
“Having such a wonderful resource as the N.C.W. Beadle Herbarium at UNE was invaluable to my project. Without that collection I could not have achieved this result. Travel to other herbaria wasn’t an option during COVID lockdowns, so Dr. Ian Telford, the curator at the herbarium, was very supportive in making the collection available.”
So, how does one decide to wave goodbye to an established career and take a huge leap into the unknown? According to Shelley, it all comes down to what brings you joy.
“It’s never too late to change your career,” she says. “I think the way I did it was quite low risk. I kept working while I studied and could have stepped back if I had to. That’s the beauty of being able to study off-campus and part-time.
“I always said ‘I’m doing this to make me happy and if it stops making me happy, I’ll stop doing it’. It never stopped making me happy and here I am.”
