My One Wish

11-year-old Jude Gale wrote “My One Wish” as part of a school project. This speech instills the hope to become a scientist to save the world, through the eyes of a young boy.

The other day I thought to myself “If I had one wish, what would I wish for?”

I quickly thought about it and came up with ideas such as:

Wishing for a million dollars.

Winning the Australian Open.

Or even finding a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory: a never-ending supply of chocolate would be so nice…

And then after more time, I thought to myself – my one wish would be to be a scientist, like the people my dad works with.

Today there are many issues that families, communities, and people across the world have to face and my one wish of being a scientist could be to help find solutions for them. My only decision – what kind of scientist would I want to be?

What kind of scientist do I want to be?

Firstly, I would like to be a medical researcher to assist with finding cures to all major sicknesses and illnesses especially cancer and dementia. These are becoming very big problems not only in Australia but across the world.

Sadly, cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Australia with over 45,000 people passing away each year.

However, it is hoped that in twenty years from now all types of cancer will be treatable through creating vaccines or through other technologies.

If I was a medical researcher my one wish would be time to find a cure.

Another illness that I would wish to help find a cure for is dementia.

Dementia is a very bad disease which mostly affects the memory of the elderly. This is now becoming a bigger illness, as people are now living longer. It would be heartbreaking to see a grandparent or your mum or dad not knowing you or your name anymore.

But I would also like to be an agricultural scientist so I could help find alternatives to growing food and feeding people across the world.

As the world population gets bigger we need to find different ways of growing food. Last year, over 800 million people went to bed hungry each night.

This means that one in nine people across the world does not have access to the nutrients and vitamins essential for proper development and health.

Many issues facing us

Or perhaps an environmental scientist so I could help reverse the effects of Global Warming.

I would like to help find alternatives to using fossil fuels, like gas and coal.

Did you know that there were 2 very famous scientists that went to Saint Peter’s College – Howard Florey and Lawrence Bragg? They did some amazing things. Howard Florey produced penicillin and Lawrence Bragg showed how to use X-rays. Both of them received a Nobel Prize.

As you can see that there are many problems in the world that scientists are dealing with.

So If I was a scientist I could help to fix these problems.

My one wish is to be a scientist to help save the world, I wonder what yours is?

Written by Jude Gale. Republished with permission.

We need your support

Australia’s Science Channel is run by The Royal Institution of Australia, a small independent charity dedicated to connecting people to the world of science, but we need your help to ensure our programs continue.

By donating to The Royal Institution of Australia, you are helping teachers around Australia inspire kids like Jude to solve real-world problems.

If you can, please support us and make a donation today.