Meet Manny

Manny’s a scientist, presenter, writer and social media phenomenon who started filming experiments for TikTok to support school students with their learning. He wants young people to know that anyone can be a scientist. 

"I want to show young people that there's scientists out there who talk like you, they look like you and they dress like you."

Ask questions

I didn't always want to put my hand up because I felt reluctant to do it. I thought that if I asked the teacher and said, I don't really understand this, then maybe other people might think, “Oh, he's not that smart. He doesn't know what's going on.” But a lot of the time when you're sat in a classroom, you're not the only one who doesn't know the answer. So, yeah man when you put your hand up and ask the question, not only are you getting the information from yourself, but you're also getting it from your peers.

Find your learning style

Not everybody can just open up a textbook and learn all the science like that. A lot of the time, people need to actually see the experiment, see the fire, the fizzing, the bubbling, and then when they see that, they're gonna be more likely to retain the information. Yeah man, there's loads of different ways that people learn. Just because somebody doesn't understand it through reading, it doesn't mean that they can't understand it through a different medium.

Be prepared

Prepare early and ask loads of questions. Let's say you learn a topic today, if you revisit that topic in one month's time or two months’ time, you're going to forget about it. But if you revisit it within a week, then you're going to be more likely to remember it, because it's still fresh in your brain.

Dream big

I kept my options open. I didn't narrow it down to one specific thing, and I aimed high. Aim for the very, very top. Because even though you may not achieve it, you can get very, very close, it's not unrealistic to aspire for these positions.

Be open minded

You don't know where you could end up, you could get some skills in one area, for example, with me, I got skills in science, qualifications in science, but I'm not working as a biomedical scientist. I'm using those skills in another area. So, keep your options open, keep your mind open. And yeah man, just always look at how you can use your skills. And put people first as well. Not just using the skills to benefit yourself, but how can it benefit others?

Find out what motivates you

When I need motivation, I normally turn to reggae music, because reggae music has a positive message. it's about empowering people. And I identify with that because I'm trying to do something similar through my platform as well. Bob Marley is one of the main artists I’ll listen to. I love the messages in his music. And how he brought people together, of different backgrounds, brought them together so that they could be in harmony.

Stick at it

Believe in yourself and in your ability, and don't underestimate yourself. Because it's easy to think that you can't do it, but with persistence and consistency, a lot can be achieved. I would encourage people to stick at it. There’s a lot of power in not giving up. If you just keep going. It might take some time, but, yeah man, you can do it.