1 Feb 2017
From Futureintech to Engenerate and local Branches to the Board, there are plenty of ways to volunteer with IPENZ. Meet Andrea Wadsworth, one of the engineers who are giving a little – and gaining a lot.
Based in: Wellington
Role: Airworthiness Engineer (Mechanical), Civil Aviation Authority
Education: BE Mechanical, Queen’s University, Canada, 2012
“Growing up, I always liked maths and science. I took all the maths and science courses at school to keep my options open. At university, I studied mechanical engineering and after graduation I ended up working for a nuclear technology company for a little while. It was difficult to find a job in Canada at the time, so when I was offered the position I thought I’d give it a shot. Unfortunately that was at the time when the Fukushima nuclear disaster happened in Japan; nuclear wasn’t really a popular industry at the time. But being an army brat, I grew up travelling quite a bit and had always wanted some overseas experience. My aunt is a Kiwi. I did some digging and found out New Zealand needed engineers. I’ve been here about three years now. I’m an airworthiness engineer at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the regulator for the aviation industry. I work in the aircraft certification unit where we review and approve any design changes or modifications people want to make to their aircraft to make sure that it’s safe for people in the air and on the ground.
“I have been a Futureintech Ambassador for two and half years. A former co-worker at CAA took me to watch one of her Ambassador presentations. I thought it was a great initiative and it looked like fun. I went through the training and now it’s one of my favourite things to do. I give talks at career nights or go into schools to talk to different classes about how I got into engineering and what it’s like to be an engineer. I try and do as many as I can, keeping in mind I still have a day job to do.
It’s great when you can talk to students in the earlier years of high school – or sometimes even earlier – where they haven’t made up their minds in terms of courses.
"The best part, even if it’s only one kid in the entire class, is to see their face light up and realise they seem a bit excited about engineering. Knowing you’ve maybe got one of them to think about entering engineering is pretty cool. Being a female engineer, I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for going into the all girls’ schools. If I can go in and inspire other girls to have the courage to follow their passions like I did, then that’s a pretty incredible feeling.
“There are some late nights outside of work hours; going to career nights, tweaking presentations. But because it’s become quite a passion of mine, it’s easy to make time for it – I find it so worthwhile. It’s a good chance to practice public speaking; it isn’t one of my favourite things to do, but being an Ambassador helps me build my confidence. I’ve done a couple of presentations with other Ambassadors so the networking among the greater STEM field is pretty good as well. And I think there are a lot of kids out there who are interested in engineering but just need that extra little nudge. As a Futureintech Ambassador, knowing that your presentation could be the reason why they end up an engineer is all the reason you need to get involved.”
