- [Jay] Hi, I'm Jay, I'm 16. And I don't know about you, but between COVID, exams and everything else, I've been wondering what the hell I'm going to do with my life. That's why I'm talking to some people who can tell me what comes next when you have no clue yourself. Today, I talked to Corey Tutt. Corey is a Kamilaroi man, and in 2018, he founded Deadly Science, a charity which supplies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids with STEM resources and mentoring. Corey is a great example of how having a great life and career can have some zigs and zags to it. For example, when he was my age, Corey had just dropped out of high school to work at a zoo.

- That was the thing that got me out of bed in the morning. You know, that was my purpose. And, for a moment there as an 18 year old, I lost that. And the reason why I lost that, was that my best friend had committed suicide. You know, suddenly, they're healthy 18 year old guy that is, really nice, and you think you're gonna be friends with him for 20 years, and then tomorrow, they're gone. And I think the way that changed me is I lost all that ability and that love for animals, I really lost. I ended up needing a change. And I saw an ad in the paper for an alpaca handler. And I ended up shearing alpacas, going around Australia and New Zealand.

- [Jay] To Corey, if you wanna find things that are meaningful to you, you might have to take a few twists and turns in life. But those twists and turns are how Corey found his passion again, and started Deadly Science.

- I had to prove to myself, what it was to be well, and what it was to recover. You know, that's something that I've had to learn over the years. And I've realized that, again, that passion and that purpose, and that belonging, is so essential to a young person, and I got that from alpaca shearing believe it or not, I got the belonging that I was really looking for. And now with Deadly Science, I'm hoping that I give that to kids around the country today.

- So what's one practical thing young people can do, if they're feeling directionless in life?

- Go on Netflix, check out a documentary. If you don't like it, turn it off and pick another one. Life is full of opportunities to learn. Go for a bushwalk, wonder. Ask yourself questions. There is no dumb questions. Asking questions is science, as young people we get conditioned not to ask questions, defy it, be against it, ask the questions, learn.