Alinor Rose
BIO
Master’s student in Immunology at Otago University (New Zealand). Solo teenage mom.
Instagram: @ali.rose.5030
Twitter: @alinorRose
Alinor Rose
“Though there were many times that success seemed impossible, I was determined not to give up on my goals.”
How did you become entranced by the promise of understanding the world through the lens of science? I loved science as a child, sure, but as a teenager I dropped out of school and moved 5 hours away from my hometown, pursuing a boy I had met who was, in my opinion, pretty cute. Theoretical science was not on my radar in the least.
Being a teenager is a turbulent time for us all. Which decisions do we let become our identity and which ones do we let become a lesson? Perhaps they can all be both.
I was 18 when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. A mix of excitement and terror overcame me, but most of all I wanted to figure out how I could make this little child's life one they are grateful for.
Being a loving mother and providing stability were the two things that came to mind, and have motivated my decisions above all else since. So, off to pursue a career I went. First up, I needed to finish high school to get into university. I attended Titiro Whakamua, a special school for teenage parents, where I was supported in being both a mother and a student. Though there were many times that success seemed impossible, I was determined not to give up on my goals.
I’m not sure how I looked to those on the outside, on the inside I felt like a complete sleep-deprived wreck most of the time; to this day I sometimes feel vertigo with how far there is to go. Like I’m Sisyphus, forever pushing my boulder uphill; the funny thing is, I’m not sure whether this is a ‘student experience’, a ‘mother experience’, or both.
There were so many things about parenting I hadn’t been prepared for, but in hindsight, I think no one really can be, and one of the beauties of being a young parent is people don’t necessarily expect you to be prepared yet. It gave me room to breathe and find my feet.
Originally I wanted to study medicine but had decided that it wouldn't fit the lifestyle that I wanted with my baby, so science was the obvious next choice for me. I think I was attracted to the stability science provides - the art of finding truths in a universe that is so wacky and seemingly senseless at times is just wonderful to me.
When my daughter was one and a half years old, I started a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. I wasn’t spared the usual challenges of a young person. Flatting and living were too expensive, making friends, boys, etc... I think most obvious in hindsight though, is that like most 20-year-olds - I was going through the same sort of ‘personal identity’ growth every young person goes through – just, with a beautiful little soul by my side. This I am so grateful for; being a mother has guided me.
My life experiences have constantly questioned my values and identity, just framed through the eyes of a mother. It's also given me many wonderful opportunities, like connecting with other mothers and learning from their wisdom.
I think ‘mothering’ is somewhat like a set of values of investing in another’s growth without regard for what you will ‘get back’. It's unconditional. In that sense, I have been extremely lucky and received a lot of mothering from the women I have met along this journey.
One such example is when I was given the incredible opportunity to learn what it is like to be ‘in the industry’ of research science. A parasitologist from the Malaghan Institute had been a guest lecturer in our 3rd-year undergraduate Immunology course. I thought her content was very interesting and after chatting to her for a short while she offered me a summer scholarship in her lab. Having not yet finished my undergraduate degree, I don’t think I was really of much use over that summer, but it was life-changing for me.
Being in the lab regularly helped a lot of the ‘lab knowledge’ I had been gaining; where before lab work had been the dreaded part of my degree, it was now my favourite. A newfound passion for research science had developed within me.
After graduating from Victoria University, I decided to pursue research science as a career, and am now in the middle of a Master’s in Immunology at Otago University. Being a mother is a wonderful gift, and receiving mothering from people is a powerful tool for growth in all sorts of unexpected contexts.