The ability to communicate with all audiences is a skill that is rapidly becoming a must-have for
any future scientist. As more physicists engage in communicating science to non-expert audiences,
research shows that this experience helps them to get a better understanding of their own
research and the impact on society, improves the perception of science by lay audiences and can
also become an area of personal growth as a citizen. A recent deployment of a PhD student to
the Amundsen Scott South Pole Station, as part of the IceCube Collaboration, provided a ready
opportunity to spark interest. We present results of the efforts made by the Université libre de
Bruxelles (ULB), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the Interuniversity Institute for High
Energies, IIHE (ULB-VUB), to introduce Belgian students and citizens to science and the life of
a scientist. The essential parts of this program will be identified to show why the contributions
of a PhD student to the organization of these activities are beneficial to the development of new
skills as a scientist, but also to broaden the audiences and the impact of the local university and/or
the specific research outreach program.