Emerie Anonical was a volunteer project manager for a Power of Engineering event at Bathurst, NSW in August 2019. Around 90 students attended, and industry partners and other volunteers took the total to 110.  Here’s what she had to say about the experience.

WHY did you volunteer to manage an event for the Power of Engineering?

I love the idea of making young women aware of the endless possibilities of engineering and giving them real-life insights to some of the different opportunities this career can offer. When I was around 17 years old, I never knew how broad engineering was. I always think of how many other girls may be in the same boat today and I want to change that. I also want to share the message that being average in science and maths is definitely not a dead-end, that if you really want to achieve something, you can. Power of Engineering gave me this project manager role that allowed me to do just that.

WHY is it important for school students to meet real-life engineers?

It's not easy to picture what an engineer looks like or exactly what they do in their everyday work lives. Meeting real-life engineers allows the students to directly ask questions about what engineering is actually like and see if this may be of potential interest to them as a future career!

WHY would you recommend a volunteer project manager role to others?

You meet so many like-minded people that are willing to go to great lengths to encourage the next generation of engineers. The Power of Engineering board members are so incredibly supportive that you never feel like you're managing it all on your own. It has also been one of the most rewarding things I have done as an engineer-to-be. 

Anything else you'd like to say to future Power of Engineering project managers?

Have so much fun! The planning may seem never-ending but the day of the event goes by so quickly. If you plan well, you will 100% reap the benefit!