![A child on the playground at the Discovery Space. A child on the playground at the Discovery Space.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/108159f8-e341-4521-b2b6-f5ab6d85a392.jpg/r0_311_6076_3741_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Professor Lisa Kervin was in kindergarten when she decided she wanted to become a teacher.
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"I was in a small country school, and I got into terrible trouble because I read a book that wasn't meant for kindergarten children, it was meant for year four children," she said.
"When I explained to my teacher that I could actually read that book, I got into trouble for lying.
"I thought, wow, children are all pretty different from each other and educators have a pretty important role in making sure children meet what it is that they're capable of doing."
Growing up in Bathurst, it wasn't immediately clear to her how she would go about getting this kind of career.
![Professor Lisa Kervin has been named on the Member of the Order of Australia list for the 2024 King's Birthday honours. File picture Professor Lisa Kervin has been named on the Member of the Order of Australia list for the 2024 King's Birthday honours. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/f12cf612-a55d-4057-9ed3-1f94f06595f3.jpg/r0_253_4951_3048_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I was first in [my] family to go to finish high school and then go to university," she said.
Luckily, she had mentors - like a friend's mum who filled out her uni applications - who set her on the right path, leading her into teaching, and then research, which she's been doing at the University of Wollongong for the past 20 years.
![The Discovery Space at UOW. File picture The Discovery Space at UOW. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/09417449-530d-45b3-9795-96756692306f.jpg/r0_230_4500_2770_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Now the Director of Research at UOW's Early Start Research Centre, Prof Kervin's work has been recognised in this year's King's Birthday honours with a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
Surprised and humbled, she said she was proud of the far-reaching impact of her work.
"I feel very privileged that my work is so much of a part of of who I am," she said.
"I feel that I get rewards pretty much daily, in terms of people I've taught watching them go on to succeed and do amazing things, or the look of joy on a child's face when they discover something new for the first time."
At Early Start - which includes the children's museum the Discovery Space which attracts thousands of young children onto campus - she heads up a team of more than 70 researchers working in diverse areas including psychology, education, to public health and social work
"We think about ways that we can work together in really interesting ways for the benefit of children," she said.
"And I feel very fortunate that we have a space that is open to the public so we can bring our research and work into the lives of children and families".
![Children participating in Early Start's Festival of Digital Play, earlier this year. Picture by Robert Peet Children participating in Early Start's Festival of Digital Play, earlier this year. Picture by Robert Peet](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/a0a2c49a-963c-41d1-a4ae-f8ecd3c23233.jpg/r0_280_5472_3369_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Her own field of expertise is literacy and digital literacy, and - thanks to her own experiences growing up - she has a special passion for helping country kids.
"I've always focused my work on more vulnerable communities and I've had a particular passion for children in regional and remote areas," Prof Kervin said.
She said the Discovery Space played a huge role in getting young people who would otherwise never go to a university onto campus.
"Our data shows that around one third of our visitors to the discovery space have never before been to a university campus - so that's an enormous outreach," she said.
"To have a space on campus that is open to the public and where we deliberately bring so many young people to campus is pretty amazing, and it's making an influence on their life trajectories and showing that university is something that is possible.
![The immersive "Pod" room at the Discovery Space. Picture by Robert Peet The immersive "Pod" room at the Discovery Space. Picture by Robert Peet](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/9e2c75e4-f1eb-4f1d-8a4b-650f3578dd47.jpg/r0_280_5472_3369_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We joke in our team that our role is looking after student admissions in about 2036 to 2038."
With screen time, social media and how kids access the digital world hot button issues, Prof Kervin has also become a reassuring voice of reason for many parents and kids.
"We know that many children have access to digital technologies, so the work that I do is really making sure that children have the knowledge and the skills and the strategies and the know how to be productive and safe," she said.
"We get questions like almost daily around digital technologies and ways parents can can navigate that terrain in their homes - because it is a new area for us all."
Prof Kervin said her AM was recognition of the collaborative and unique work being done on early childhood research in the Illawarra.
"It shows that early childhood matters - we know how important the first five years of a child's life are - and that digital literacy matters and that on the ground work with children and their adults is so important," she said.
"For the Illawarra to have a facility like Early Start that is accessible to everybody, it's really setting our children on the very best track."