Ms Nicole Sugden is a talented Charles Sturt University (CSU) PhD student in the final stages of her higher degree at the School of Psychology in Bathurst. She is also a quadriplegic, and was selected as a CSU representative to meet Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at an official reception at the Sydney Opera House recently.

Each university in NSW was asked to nominate two students who are young leaders excelling in their chosen field of community, education, youth affairs, health, and volunteering. Ms Sugden was nominated by the CSU Faculty of Arts as an exceptional student for her outstanding achievement in research, and was presented as a youth leader in the area of research.

"I was one of the lucky few people who got to chat with the Duchess," Ms Sugden said. "It was an unforgettable day."

Motivation and study

All of Ms Sugden's tertiary study has been through CSU, including her Bachelor of Psychology and Honours (first class).

"I love studying at Charles Sturt University," she said. "I have studied both internally and by distance education, and have found these flexible study options really helpful.

"When I first enrolled in psychology I was interested in a career as a clinical psychologist. However, once I started the degree I discovered I was really interested in the research aspect of psychology. I like that psychology covers a wide range of topics and that there is the possibility to explore different areas. I particularly enjoy the fields of cognition (especially memory), personality, and the biology of behaviour. In teaching psychology, I like that the material can be applied to everyday life, and quite often is fun."

Research - remembering to remember

Ms Sugden's PhD research is in the area of prospective memory, which is defined as remembering to carry out an action in the future. This research involves the development of a 42-item questionnaire which assesses prospective memory concerns in healthy adults as well as in individuals with brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia. The relationship between concerns about prospective memory and performance in real-life prospective memory tasks is also explored.

"The main goal of my research is to develop a prospective memory concerns questionnaire which will hopefully be used in future research and clinical settings," Ms Sugden said.

"My research also investigates a theoretical evaluation of age and personality differences in relation to prospective memory. I'm also looking at issues in the assessment of prospective memory impairments such as the relationship between self-reported concerns and actual memory performance."

In late 2013 Ms Sugden won the Helen Bartlett Prize for Innovation in Ageing Research at the Emerging Researchers in Ageing Conference (Sydney, 25 November) for the most original and creative research presented at the conference.

"The Helen Bartlett prize included $250 in cash, and the Emerging Researchers in Ageing conference was my first time presenting at a conference and was definitely a confidence booster," Ms Sugden said. "It was great practice for the 4th International Conference on Prospective Memory that I will be presenting a poster at later this month in Naples, Italy."

Meeting Royalty

Ms Sugden said that the invitation to meet the Royals came as a complete surprise.

"I am very grateful to the University for nominating me," she said. "It was an unforgettable experience.

"All of the guests were briefed on etiquette on arrival at the reception, but neither the Duke or Duchess appeared to be overly worried about formality and they were more interested in meeting us.

"I didn't get to meet Prince William but I was one of the very few people - less than 30 - who were lucky enough to get to speak with the Duchess. She was absolutely stunning in real life. We spoke for about five minutes about my research and she asked how I came to be in a wheelchair*. She was very natural and genuinely interested in having meaningful conversations with everyone she spoke to. Everyone was very nervous about talking to her, but she made you feel very comfortable, as if you were talking to a friend.

"I was lucky to meet some of the other guests who were very talented and inspirational young Australians, including the NSW Young Woman of the Year, Winter Olympian Torah Bright, as well as some NRL and AFL players. I was most excited about meeting one of my favourite authors, Matthew Reilly."

The future

Ms Sugden says she has no specific career plans but I would love to continue at CSU.

"I love research and would like to do more, perhaps continuing my work in prospective memory or in a completely different area," she said. "I also thoroughly enjoy the teaching I currently do in the unit Foundations of Psychology for the Health and Human Services, and want to continue on as an academic. Ideally, a combination of research and teaching would be great."

• Thanks to Benjamin Townsend Commercial Photography for the photos of Ms Nicole Sugden taken at the reception for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Sydney Opera House.