What does your role within Waka Kotahi’s Urban Mobility team involve, and what excites you most about their Emerging Professionals Graduate Programme?
In the Urban Mobility team, I've been working on the Streets for People programme where we support councils to create safe and vibrant streets through active transport improvements. I have been able to follow my interest in design and they have supported me to develop these skills.
Something I've been really interested in is how to communicate street changes to the public. Through the support of my team, I was able to learn how to design street renders using technical engineering plans.
In terms of the EP programme, it has been a great opportunity to connect with awesome people from different backgrounds. Starting a new job was a bit scary, so having a built-in support grad network was great!
How did your internship with the Waitaki District Council help to prepare you for your current position?
My internship at the Waitaki District Council was a really valuable opportunity because it gave me experience of project work in a professional setting, including - how to work with a variety of stakeholders and the public, analysing real world datasets, communicating findings back to the Council and the public and extending my GIS skills. All these skills have been really useful in my current role as it involves working with a range of people, understanding and using evidence to support decision making, and lots of other things!
Is urban planning and transport something you have always been interested in?
I have always been passionate about the environment, but uni really opened my eyes to the role transport and urban planning plays in people's wellbeing and environmental outcomes. Our road network is an incredibly complex environment and something that people interact with every day. This means that working in this space you can have a big impact!
How did your double major in Environmental Science and Geography and minor in Political Science help to prepare you for your chosen career path?
Taking these subjects helped me to understand different environmental issues, how people interact with them, and how political systems like central and local government can address and respond to these issues. This interdisciplinary degree has given me different perspectives to bring to the work that I do.
What was it that attracted you to UC, leading you to study your Bachelor of Science here?
The change-making and innovation approach really attracted me to study at UC as I want to make positive change. Also, being involved in clubs at high school made me want to go to a university that had a strong club scene.
Were you involved in any clubs while at UC? Any highlights from your involvement in these?
I was involved in Student Volunteer Army as an Events Manager and UC Parkour as the President. Highlights from both clubs were the people that I met. It really made my uni experience and I have made many lifelong friends from being involved in these clubs. A key experience was the SVA camps where we travelled around the South Island to help out the local communities. I felt like we had a really positive impact on local projects!
