Evie Hawker is this week’s campus celebrity. She is a first year studying Geography (BA), and had an amazing opportunity during her gap year (or gap yarrr) to write a report for the Royal Geographical Society (kind of a big thing in the world of geography). We were lucky enough to interview her about her experience.
So, first of all, tell me about your gap year?
Well, it was funded by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and it would not have been possible without the leading and learning grant. I travelled to amazing places and conducted research in the Galapagos Islands. To get the grant I had to have an interview and a proposal. Only 12 students a year are given the £4,000 grant so I was thrilled to have been picked!
We hear that you are about to have your research paper published by the RGS, how does that make you feel?
Excited and happy, it is such an interesting area of research and I hope it shall increase awareness for the Society.
What was your research on?
The Royal Geographical Society contacted me and asked me to examine the socio-economic issues on the Galapagos Islands. I travelled to several of the main islands and I took a photo of anything that caught my eye as evidence of the socio-economic issues that the islands face. I also visited some of the museums to get a better sense of the historical reasons for the modern socio-economic issues.
Matters such as food security are still very prevalent in the islands, which face risky physical issues such as dangerous waters (often caused by El Nino dramatic storms) resulting in food shortages. It was great to immerse myself in the culture and to take photographs to analyse the problems that most tourists never see when they visit the islands.
What did you learn from the experience?
I learnt how powerful representations (or misrepresentations) of a place can be. We have a misconception that the islands are paradise and in reality they are very different! There is not nearly enough focus on how fragile the ecosystem is and the extent to which mass tourism is destroying many aspects of it.
The islands cover a relatively small area, but so many factors have to be taken into consideration when examining the issues the islands face, be it differing demands from the locals, the tourists, or the ecosystems. On the only 4 inhabited islands, only 3% of the entire islands are available for human development, meaning these areas are greatly over populated. This problem is made greater by many who arrive from the mainland, wrongly believing they will find work in the islands.
Is research and academia within human geography a path you want to take in the future?
Definitely. This gap year project confirms my love of research, it was amazing to realise how much of an interest I already had in geographical research before university.
Have you got any advice for people who want to try and complete similar types of research on their gap year?
I would suggest that they explore funding options. I heard about the opportunity form my geography teacher, and it is possible to find out about scholarship or grant opportunities from any department or academic establishment. Also do your own research and think of the best ways of selling yourself to ensure that you are awarded the grant money. Go with an open mind and whatever research you may end up doing, be prepared to get emotionally affected, as it is such an amazing world full of opportunities!