A Youthline Young Ambassador’s Journey into Research

Hi, my name is Emilia Rakowska and I have been a Young Ambassador at Youthline for around five years. Before becoming a volunteer, I received counselling through Youthline myself, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the support I received.

Being part of the Young Ambassadors programme has opened many doors for me. The team at Youthline have supported me, encouraged me and helped me build confidence in myself and my abilities.

I have dyslexia and ADHD, and throughout my life I’ve experienced situations in education and socially where people have made assumptions about what I could or couldn’t achieve. I wanted to share my story because I know there are young people who may feel discouraged by labels, other people’s opinions, or by struggling to fit into traditional expectations.

Alongside my studies and volunteering, I work with a dedicated team of bat researchers in Poland. Together, we recently published a scientific paper in the journal Acta Chiropterologica, titled:

“Comparative Analysis of Bat Activity at Paved and Unpaved Roads in Forested Habitat”

Our research explored how bats interact with different types of forest roads in the Białowieża Forest, the last remaining primeval forest in Europe.

One of the key findings from our research was that the quality of the surrounding habitat mattered more to bats than the type of road surface itself. This highlights the importance of looking at wildlife conservation in a more holistic way.

For me personally, being part of this research has been a reminder that neurodiversity does not limit intelligence, curiosity, passion or achievement. I hope that by sharing this, another young person might feel encouraged to believe in themselves and what they are capable of too.

If you would like to read more about the research, you can find the paper on my ResearchGate profile here:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emilia-Rakowska?ev=hdr_xprf