© Pint of Science, 2024. All rights reserved.
In the next instalment of our highlight series for our 10 year anniversary, we had a chat to Talita Raglus, who volunteered as our Communications Manager for the 2024 Festival.
Talita Raglus
Communications Manager (2024)
What do you do for Pint of Science?
In the lead-up to the 2024 Annual Festival, I volunteered as the Communications Manager within the National Team. There, I managed the internal and external communications for Pint of Science Australia around the event itself and our brand—basically, making sure we were saying the right things to the right people at the right time!
I had the support of Communications Officers and worked closely with the Leadership Team and Co-CEOs to ensure I was across the requirements for each portfolio. This included things like sharing social media posts advertising our open volunteer opportunities, sending emails to announce tickets being live, developing posters to pass along to each City Coordinator to promote the event in their local town and much more.
This was my third year volunteering and a big step up from my previous experiences, where I assisted on the night of the events. I have since taken up the role of Director, Media and Communications and look forward to tackling my fourth festival in 2025!
What does success look like in your Pint of Science Role?
I think for Pint of Science Australia overall – success looks as simple as connecting local Aussies with science in a way that everyone can understand, and from there, the rest of our mission falls into place.
Through the lens of a Communications Manager, success for the 2024 festival looked like our audience being aware of our events and our volunteers feeling prepared for them.
Looking ahead, success is feeling a little similar, but with the added focus of bringing awareness to what Pint of Science Australia offers as a year-round science engagement organisation and the opportunities available for locals.
Why PoS over other volunteer organisations?
My first year volunteering with PoS was very last minute – a friend at work asked if I wanted to help with the event on the night, knowing my history of volunteer work and love of anything where I get to talk to people. I instantly said yes.
What made me keep coming back though and struck a chord with me as a person without a background in science, was the opportunity Pint of Science Australia provides to connect with science outside of my career. In high school I was more aligned with creative and writing subjects, focusing on paving a career pathway into events and marketing, which didn’t leave a lot of time to be interested in STEM subjects.
I hope I can continue to raise awareness of our organisation for others like me who might want to dip their toe into science but did not get the chance early on.
2024 celebrated the 10-year anniversary of PoS in Australia. What was the highlight of this year’s festival for you?
The highlight of the 10-year anniversary for me was being able to pull together our creative designs from the featured artwork and simply being a part of the National Team for such a historic year for Pint AU.
What do you do as a day job?
Currently, I work as a Communications Officer at CQUniversity, where I assist with managing the internal communications to students. The role is a balancing act between an advocate for the student audience and ensuring they aren’t overloaded with communications from our stakeholders, while communicating their responsibilities as a student, highlighting opportunities and bringing awareness to available resources, services and upcoming events.
Pint of Science Australia has definitely deepened my experience at a Manager level and now as Director, and while it has been tough to switch my brain to work at a higher level, the Leadership Team and Co-CEOs have been extremely supportive and I’ve really enjoyed learning from the team and bouncing ideas in our catch-ups.
In three "dot points", describe yourself.
- A people person
I enjoy meeting new people, sharing stories, and working together to make something great happen.
- Energetic
Or some might say chaotic! Always got several things on the go.
- The designated planner friend
I am, and always have been, the designated organiser, communicator, and overall bring-the-idea-to-life friend. Whether it’s an overseas trip, booking the restaurant and ordering for the group, or creating the chore charts for the house, I am ya girl.
Interested in joining the Pint AU volunteer team?
Explore our volunteering roles >>