Hope Drive presenter Georgia Free announces a career move into the field of science.
Hope 103.2 on-air presenter and award-winning podcaster Georgia Free has announced she is leaving the radio station, to pursue a dream role in the science field.
Listeners who have followed her journey on-air from breakfast producing six years ago, to now presenting Drive, have sent many emotional messages of support, telling her how much she will be missed.
Georgia told her listeners that she will be returning to a dream she put on the shelf before coming into radio.
“Before coming to Hope 103.2, I gained a science degree and had been accepted into a Masters PhD program,” Georgia said. “[but] decided to defer my Masters for a year.”
Landing her job at Hope 103.2 was a career tangent she didn’t expect, but which turned out to be “a dream I didn’t even know I had”.
In her six years at the station she has produced three different breakfast shows, produced videos, been a weekend presenter, and hosted the podcasts Hope Book Club and Finding Hope, the latter of which earnt her Best Podcast award at the 2023 Excellence in Media Awards.
“I’ve loved every aspect of my job here, learning all the new skills yet, in the back of my mind, I missed science,” she said. “For a long time I was convinced I’d never get back into science, and then – just like my role at Hope – something fell into my lap.”
A New Role at the Garvan Institute
When Georgia heard about a new role being created at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, where she’d wanted to work since her teens, she decided to apply. Medical research has a personal significance for Georgeo, as her sister has cystic fibrosis, and she has a long-held dream to work in that field.
“This new role is not purely research but adjacent to it, with a communications element, so it fits my background in both science and radio,” she said.
“My takeaway memories of Hope will definitely be the people. I’m going to miss the camaraderie and common purpose plus all the conversations I’ve had with listeners and guests. I think I’ll miss hearing peoples’ stories the most."