Maxim Adams 2016
Paul Galea:
Hello? Hello. Maxim Adams. It’s Paul Galea from International Grammar School calling you to see how you’re going.
Maxim:
Oh, I’m doing very well, thank you.
Paul Galea:
So, Maxim, some people won’t know this. They think I’m some sort of psychic, but you’ve just returned from the Solomon Islands. In fact, literally returned yesterday or last night. I’m sure people are interested because that’s a place that I’ve never been to and I don’t know anyone who has been there! Give us a quick rundown on how you ended up there and what you did there.
Maxim:
So I ended up there because I finished my degree. I was a little bit burnt out from writing and staring at a screen for a year, and so I was kind of seeking a specific feeling of being in nature, completely immersed and like, isolated from civilisation. so I was looking up various islands around Australia. I thought they were too expensive essentially because they’re all resorts. And so I opened Google maps and kind of just panned northwards to Melanesia and saw the Solomon Islands and, like a couple of cool resorts, popped up and islands and stays and I thought, “That seems kind of exciting.“And the one I settled on is this place called Teta Island, which is the biggest uninhabited island in the Pacific, where all they have is a wooden research station where you can just stay completely off the grid. And it’s one of the most beautiful natural places I’ve ever been, just teeming with life. So I spent the whole time snorkelling, exploring the rainforest and just kind of refreshing myself spiritually. I think it’s a really, really cool spot. It’s a really fascinating country as well, where compared to a lot of other of the Southeast Asian countries like Fiji and Malanesia and Indonesia, it doesn’t have a well developed tourism industry. So you’re really living abreast with the locals, and it’s amazing to experience.
Paul Galea:
OK, you’ve sold it to me. I’m going to definitely be looking at that because that sounds fantastic.
Maxim:
If you go there, you have got to love snorkelling. It is the main thing, I’d say, because a couple of the days it rained and it struck me that there’s really not that much else to do. You know, there’s no movie theatres, no shopping centres, anything like that. So you really you have to love nature to go there.
Paul Galea:
Well, you’ve sold me. So one of the reasons why I’m ringing you up, and again, people think I’m some sort of omnipotent person, is that I know that you just received your results and that you won the University Medal and you finished your Honours Degree. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that?
Maxim:
Yeah. Cool. So I finally, after a bit of a delay, finished my bachelor’s degree, two and a half years ago, and then COVID struck, so I took a bit of a break there. I also took some time off to do directing of a theatre show. Then finally, I managed to kind of get it together and finish my Honours Degree. So I was in evolutionary biology and genetics and I was looking at the biogeography, the conservation and, the species relationships of wood feeding cockroaches in Eastern Australia.
Paul Galea:
Stop there. Did you say ‘wood eating cockroaches in Eastern Australia’?
Maxim:
That’s right. For all the fans at home, the genus is Panethsia. But if you’ve ever had compost pile in your backyard or whatnot, those would be like the sort of wingless little black cockroaches you see scurrying along those logs.
Paul Galea:
You couldn’t get a little bit more specific with your biological studies, could you?
Maxim:
Yeah. Yeah. So the questions that we were asking are things like, “How did they manage to spread all the way southwards across the coast of Australia? What factors make them lose their wings? And what are the relationships between the different species that we see, how did they originate? When did they separate and what drove them to their current distribution?” And so it’s really closely linked to fluctuations in Australian climate. And then a specific subset of that as well was the focus on one cockroach, which is found on the Lord Howe Island archipelago, where it’s not just on Lord Howe Island itself, but also on all of the smaller islands around it, which are now separated by a sea level. And so it’s looking at how the fluctuations in sea level over geological time due to ice caps, affected the relationships between those populations and how inbred and how diverse they are now as a result.
Paul Galea:
OK, and has that got any application? I mean, obviously, climate change is the thing on everyone’s lips and obviously sea levels are rising. So has that got any relevance to that?
Maxim:
Yeah, a little bit. The bigger question with the Lord Howe one is that on Lord Howe Island itself, it was almost completely wiped out by rats when they were introduced one hundred years ago. So one of the questions we’re looking at is, “Could we reintroduce individuals from some of those outer islands back into Lord Howe itself to breed and repopulate the population?” So it’s a big conservation issue right now, and the species is actually endangered.
Paul Galea:
OK? Yeah. Introduced species often mark the end of native species
Maxim:
There are a lot of stories of rats just ruining everything wherever they go.
Paul Galea:
Not a fan of rats, I’ve got to say. Now, one thing I haven’t done is tell everyone who you are. I mean, you left school in 2016. You were the Head Boy. You were an outstanding student, an outstanding young man. And I’m going to say this and I know you’re going to be embarrassed by this, but you are in the top two or three smartest guys in 30 years that I saw go through our school, but 100% in the top one most humble and least caught up or least affected by your abilities. I think I say that with great respect in that. If I was as smart as you and I had have done what you’ve done and I’d been as clever as you, I’d have been shouting it from the rooftops, but you’ve always been very understated and a very good person. You’re a very down to earth and grounded person. And I think that is why you’re a very popular person amongst most of the people in IGS. Don’t comment on that, because that’s a bit embarrassing for you.
Maxim:
I’m duly embarrassed.
Paul Galea:
Yeah, Good one, mate. So, obviously, COVID and you said you did the drama thing. You said you directed it. What was the name of the show? And where was it? What was it about?
Maxim:
That’s the Science Review. So it’s a yearly comedy show. It has about sixty or seventy people in the cast. And it’s written by just mostly science students, but also just students from across the university. It’s like a variety show with songs and sketches, that’s usually about two to three hours long that is put on every year and is supported by the Faculty of Science.
Paul Galea:
Yeah. OK, so when I was at uni, I went to the Medical Review and I went to a couple of those and they’re pretty good. So you did that. That was good.
Maxim:
Yeah. So, I joined it and that was one of the first things I did in first year of uni. I just made heaps of friends. It was just really fantastic. And I kind of steadily rose through the ranks, I guess, until I found myself directing.
Paul Galea:
OK, so that brings me to the to the next thing. You’ve been very successful at uni. People may not understand. The University Medal is a very, very big deal. And it’s something that is not that common. But what I’m interested in is you just said you made lots and lots of friends at uni, and you’ve obviously done well, scholastically at uni. Have you got any tips for having successful life in tertiary education?
Maxim:
Yeah. I mean, my advice would be don’t necessarily worry as much about the scholastics; don’t necessarily worry about them as much as me because I look back at the fun memories and the things that I’m going to tell my kids down the line, and I’m not going to really tell them about results and whatnot. It is the things like the Science Review I had and in particular, the people I met. That’s important. So compared to high school where it’s compulsory, the fact is, you’re doing this for yourself. So on one hand it means you should try and do well for yourself. On the other hand, it also means you can kind of afford to take the pressure off sometimes. And remember that it’s just your life and you only get one. You can have a bit of fun along the way.
Paul Galea:
Well, you were in the same year as my youngest daughter, and I’m actually in the process of having that conversation with her quite often in that you only get to live your life once. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, in fact, it’s a great thing. But once you do get to have a partner and maybe have a family and maybe have a full time permanent job and maybe, you know, have a house or you’re, you know, in a rental situation, yeah, that that is you, more or less, you’re in that life for a long time. I think we have got to make sure, particularly these days, that young people and I call anyone under thirty very young -that they use their time to explore and do like what you’ve done with the Solomon Islands, get out there and just see what the world has got to offer and see what Australia has got to offer and just see what you’ve got to offer. So, yeah, that sounds like you’ve got the right attitude.
Maxim:
Yeah. I definitely think it’s true. And I think with uni especially, every year, as you’re sort of facing it, feels like, “OK, this is really serious now” and then you look back in three years time and it wasn’t even slightly. I think that feeling like that takes a while to kind of put that into effect, but realising you still have lots of freedom is kind of a nice realisation.
Paul Galea:
And I think part of that, though, is that well, it’s always the same, mate. I mean, we try and tell the students at school the HSC is important, but it’s not the be all and end all of your life. It’s not going to permanently change the course of your life. And it’s very hard for people who are in that situation to understand that. More or less, you can’t see the forest for the trees. That’s more or less what it is. And I think that goes through uni as well, too, doesn’t it?
Maxim:
Yeah, I think so and I think as uni gets more vocational, unfortunately, it seems compared to my parents’ generation, uni is more the thing preparing you for the job that’s on a pipeline compared to the sort of a broader general education back in the day. But that could just be retrospect.
Paul Galea:
Yeah. It’s interesting because the world’s changed so much that people are worried at the end of their course and are worried about having a job, and I think that’s an issue. But the other side of it is that general learning, that love of learning and that thing of just being there to expand your mind, it should never be completely thrown away. I don’t think.
Maxim:
Yeah. I mean, you know, I’m doing quite a niche area in science, so I’m always going to be very firm on doing it to expand your mind’ topic. But I can understand the other perspective too.
Paul Galea:
Well, speaking of that, what do you think you’re going to do post-degree? Are you going to keep going with your research or……..
Maxim:
Yeah, it’s a good question. I opened a lot of doors for myself, and I kind of, in a sense, almost blindly worked hard to have as many choices as possible at the end of it. And now, actually, choosing is pretty difficult. So there’s a couple of labs overseas I’ve been looking at, which could be a potential option for a PhD. Otherwise, I’d also be interested in getting into more practical things, like working with national parks or conservation. And so now that I’ve come back from the Solomons, I’ve sort of set myself a task for this month of right ”You’ve got this degree. What are all the possible things you can apply for?” and trying to toss them up.
Paul Galea:
Alright. I’m going to give you a little bit of unsolicited advice. If you’ve got the opportunity to go into a PhD overseas, I reckon that would be brilliant. And then come and do your national park sort of stuff.
Maxim:
Yeah, I’m kind of leaning towards it. I was talking to my supervisor today and he was like, “Oh, you want to apply, I’ve got your back.” Essentially, I’ll reach out. And so I’m feeling quite good about that possibility. So yeah, maybe like America. Maybe Europe.
Paul Galea:
Yeah. And again, mate, while you’re young enough that it doesn’t really matter one way or the other and then you come back and you can change the wood cockroaches’ lives. Yeah, great. Are you still hanging out with any of your friends, your old mates from IGS?
Maxim:
Yeah, you know, everyone warns you about losing contact with your high school friends. Maybe it’s just a thing in IGS and especially our year group, but I’m still hanging out with heaps of them. And it seems like a lot of the friend groups that were formed at IGS still seem to hang out all the time, like going on trips around the world. And I think it seems like Maeve’s group of friends did that as well?
Paul Galea:
Yeah, she’s been on a couple of big trips with her mates. Do you still you still see Zelda at all. Or any of those guys?
Maxim:
Yeah, totally. Yeah, like Sam, Griffin, Zelda, Nathan. Everyone. Yeah, hanging out.
Paul Galea:
Yeah, great. All right, That’s nice, mate. OK, and I’ll ask you one more question. Actually I’ve got two more questions for you. Some of the kids who are going into Year 11 and 12 and are doing their HSC in the near future. Any advice for them? In terms of some of the things that you learnt along the way?
Maxim:
Doing the HSC?
Paul Galea:
Yeah, well, doing the HSC, but also moving into uni and moving into that post-school life.
Maxim:
Hm. I think one of the things that always benefits you to realise early, and this is more the post-school life one. The second part is realising how much control you have over your life once you’re out and that you don’t have to live it by anyone else’s standards. I remember reading some studies of people’s most common regrets on their deathbed, not to make it too morbid. And overwhelmingly number one was ‘not living the life that I wanted, but the life that people expected of me.’ And you know it’s a tough question and not one that’s easy to put into action. But once you’re sort of free and done with the HSC, that should be your life’s task; working out that question because you will regret it if you don’t. Otherwise, in terms of specific things, I’d say you know, don’t go absolutely insane with the study like there’s a tendency to kind of over study and feel like you have to be putting in the time. The more important part is gaining the understanding and kind of feeling comfortable with it in your own mind, and that doesn’t necessarily have to take hours. If you feel like you can really fully explain something, it can take, like, you know, 20 minutes to get it. And that’s more important work than just cramming.
Paul Galea:
OK, very good. I think that’s a good thing. I do want to ask you-I know your mum’s from Ukraine, and obviously with the war there, that must be very difficult for her. Have you got any thoughts on what’s going on there?
Maxim:
I think it’s a very tragic situation and unfortunately, one that the Ukrainians in particular, have seen coming for a long time, certainly since 2014 with the seizure of Crimea and the kind of pseudo war in the east, but also as early as the nineties, with all the changes with NATO and kind of the giving up of nuclear weapons to Russia. So it’s definitely very tragic right now, but I think there’s still a lot of silver lining in that it’s bringing the community together. It’s kind of like forging a hope for Ukraine as a country and like a spirit for it. So I hope it ends sooner rather than later. And I think Ukraine will be able to come out stronger.
Paul Galea:
Well, yeah. So speaking of your mum, give her my best. I’m a big fan of hers. And also your mad brother, who’s the only other person I know that’s been wearing Crocs for 10 years. He’s a good man, your little brother. Say hi to him. That’s about it. So, you look after yourself, and I really appreciate talking to you. And you’re just such a breath of fresh air, Maxim. Just the way you think and the way that you articulate your thoughts. It’s just great. And as I said, I remember teaching you I think, in Year 9 or Year 10….
Maxim:
Sounds about right.
Paul Galea:
Yeah. In Elective History. It was just so good teaching someone like you. Someone who like you say, understood what was going on, and were able to apply that to whatever we were doing. A real pleasure to speak to you. And hopefully, we’re having a ‘five’ year reunion for your year group at some stage, a delayed five year reunion at some stage. So hopefully I’ll see you there.
Maxim:
Yeah. Cool. I mean, yeah, I’d love to be there and catch up with everyone. Is that this year?
Paul Galea:
Yeah, that’ll be this year. Later in the year. Alright, mate. You follow us on social media because it’ll all go out on that.
Maxim:
Sweet. No worries. Well, thanks so much for, like, reaching out. I’m really happy to chat and get back in touch.
Paul Galea:
All right. Good on you. Thanks, Maxim.