Australians of the Year answer Illawarra students' burning questions

There were 250 students invited to discuss the lives and experiences of the four guests.

Leading the way were 2024 Australians of the Year - professors Georgina Long AO and Richard Scolyer AO. They are globally renowned for their work in the treatment of melanoma and are the co-directors of Melanoma Institute Australia.

Prof Scolyer was diagnosed with an incurable brain cancer, glioblastoma IDH wild-type, in June 2023.

The other two panellists were Angus Olsen, the 2024 NSW Local Hero, is a childhood cancer illustrator and author; and Joel Pilgrim, the 2018 NSW Young Australian of the Year finalist. He is the CEO of the Waves of Wellness Foundation and a leading mental health advocate.

After the discussion was finished the panelists then had to front up to questions from the audience.

The panellists told the students how every path was different.

Mr Pilgrim described wanting to be a physiotherapist but struggled with keeping his marks up to standard.

"So I did occupational therapy to then transfer over, and the lesson there is you don't have to know what you want to do," he said.

Mr Olsen says he initially wanted to be an animator and studied fine art at TAFE to achieve this goal before being accepted to train with Disney.

For Prof Long, she described her path as a "wriggly road".

"When I finished school I thought I liked the arts but I liked my science and law," she said. "Bad decision, I did not like law loved the science, dropped the law continued the science."

Prof Scolyer wanted to be a professional sportsperson despite his own admission he "didn't have the talent to make it" before a medical incident changed his perspective.

"When I was a little kid my mum got very sick through a series of strokes," he said. "It was really from that stage that medicine appealed to me. I wanted to help people make a difference and that is what I aim for."

This question was directed at the two professors on stage but everyone in the auditorium was interested.

Prof Long was enthusiastic it would be positive.

"It's fabulous, it will never take over humans, but it's a fabulous tool, and we're doing a lot of research with it in our lab," Prof Long said.

The sentiment was shared by Prof Scolyer who said it would help reach the goal of zero deaths from cancer "much quicker".

"It will make a big difference, it will make things more efficient and more accurate," he said. "It sounds simple on the surface but it's much more complicated to get it integrated, but we will get there."

All four panellists ended the forum by telling the students what they would want their younger selves to know.

Mr Pilgrim said it was important to find yourself and to "run your own race" but shared one more thought agreed upon by the whole panel.

"Final message, put your bloody phone down," he said to applause.

Mr Olsen reflected upon how life can take unexpected turns, but without them, he would be different.

"Don't assume that it will be a thing, keep it open."

Continuing on this theme Prof Long said follow your own path and interests.

"There's no treasure at the end of the rainbow, it's a fact we all have to face, but the journey is magnificent."

Prof Scolyer advised the students to enjoy different aspects of their life.

"Life always has ups and downs ... where things are going really well in one area and not so good in another area," he said.

"Lastly, as someone who's been dealt a bad hand of cards with an incurable cancer, make the most of every day.

"You don't know what's around the corner, enjoy it have fun, and be part of the community."