On the video sharing platform TikTok, Jazz shared her thoughts on the intersection between neuroscience, quantum mechanics and spirituality. The way she relays concepts perfectly recaptures the wonder she says she experienced during inspirational moments of learning while completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Criminology at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
One of the four million views the video has attracted happened to be that of a postgraduate student from Cornell University in New York. He reached out to Jazz about his own similar interdisciplinary thinking and made an enticing offer: to co-author a research paper for academic journal Neuroscience of Consciousness. If accepted, it could open the door to potential research funding.
“Together, we are pushing into the research of consciousness in an increasingly AI-dominated world,” Jazz says. “Do the AI systems being created have intelligence themselves? How do we even go about defining intelligence? People are looking at new frameworks to push out current knowledge and thinking, and we’re taking an interdisciplinary approach to try and answer these questions.”
Jazz, who currently lives in the Bay of Plenty, was educated at an international school overseas. She chose Vic Uni to continue learning in a culture of diversity.
“Vic Uni has a real international community. Meeting people from different backgrounds helped me develop my perspective and my thinking. It's what drew me to Wellington.
“What I learned at Victoria University from my lecturers—especially Dr Jiun Youn and Professor Bart Ellenbroek at 200-level papers—was really the spark for me. Particularly ideas around the mechanisms of perception. I got a lot of support and could flesh out my ideas in conversations with both lecturers and tutors and get practical tips about how to pursue a research career.”
The global reach of Jazz’s social post has also enhanced her online work.
“My work in user-generated content—creating ads for brands to post on their channels —now provides me with a stable income. This work exploded after my own video series went viral.”
After graduation, Jazz is planning to move to Bali for six months to further capitalise on this opportunity. She will join the international ‘digital nomad’ community based there— location-independent workers who create incomes online.
She also hopes to shape a future venture, focused on helping people understand emotions and break repeating behaviour patterns, drawing on both her studies and lived experience.
“I want to broaden my horizons, and as there are many expatriates living and working there, I’ll be able to combine personal growth and business growth, as well as furthering my research career.”