What inspired you to become an Engineer? Why did you apply for an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship?

I had never really thought of getting into engineering until around third year of secondary school. When we were picking our GCSEs, the technology department had given us a task that was a simplified version of what the GCSE coursework would be like. After completing this and doing well in it I started to have more of an interest in engineering and my technology teacher Mrs Anderson greatly encouraged me to take it up for one of my GCSEs.

This was something I did not regret and my interest in engineering only grew from here, when Mrs Anderson told our class about the Arkwright scholarship, I was a bit sceptical as I wasn’t sure if I would get it and if I did I wasn’t sure how I would spend it. Thankfully I was very lucky that a girl in the year above had been successful in getting one and she answered all my questions which put my mind at ease. After hearing her answers and after looking through the website at the different alumni stories and seeing how many great opportunities there was through the scholarship I decided to apply.

How did you use your Scholarship funding?

Once receiving my funding, I struggled trying to think of ways to use it but I remembered at the awards ceremony that we were encouraged to try and use it in a way that would inspire the next generation. I thought back on when I was in primary school and how much I used to enjoy the STEM activities that one of my teachers did. As I went to a very small primary school (approximately 60 pupils at the time) there wasn’t a lot of opportunities for exposure to the STEM subjects especially for girls. Originally, I had planned to ask for a day during the school’s summer scheme to host a STEM Day, however one of the teachers was a very big advocate for STEM and said that I could come in during term time. This allowed me to do a full STEM week to get the entire school involved. After a few months of planning I decided that in the mornings we would do an experiment for all of the students. In the afternoons the kids were split up into teams consisting of at least one pupil from every class (Primary 1- Primary 7) and given an engineering challenge to complete, from building bridges out of paper to making hover crafts and testing out balloon buggies. As well as this in 2018 I volunteered at my local youth club and using my funding I again carried out engineering-based activities with the kids. This was a bit more difficult as there was very limited time to do the activities however, I noticed that as the weeks went on more and more of the kids were wanting to take part, so it was still having some impact.

What did you gain from your Arkwright Scholarship? Any stand-out experiences? Did it open any doors for you?

I gained a lot more confidence through the Arkwright scholarship, for example when I was approached to do a video for Tomorrow’s Engineers about one of my projects they had seen. The video was a great opportunity for both me and our school, as I went to an all-girl school this really promoted women in engineering. However, one of the standout moments had to be when I returned to my primary school to do my second STEM week with them in 2019. The students had remembered the experiments from the previous year and were so excited to tell me how they had been doing some themselves at home. I also had a lot of them asking questions about the different types of engineering and what each discipline did. There was also a lot more of the girls coming up and asking about all the things they could do with the STEM subjects when they got older which I thought was brilliant. Since the second STEM week went so well, I was asked by the school if I would be open to making this an annual thing which I very eagerly agreed to.

Tell us about your career since you completed your Arkwright Scholarship. (Have you travelled with work/study? What are you working on at the moment that you can tell us about? Are there any projects that you’ve worked on that standout for you?)

In 2023 I graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and started my role as a technical quality specialist in Almac Pharma Services. I had previously completed my placement year with Almac as a technical quality specialist and was lucky enough to receive a job offer to return after graduation. Currently I have been working within the team on two new Grade D manufacturing facilities on our Craigavon site including laboratories, purified water skids, compressed air, warehouse space and production rooms with potent processing capabilities. During these projects I have been very fortunate to go on Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) for many different pieces of equipment (For example tablet press or blender). During these FATs I travelled to the factory with the wider project team and tested the equipment before shipment to site. Working on these two new manufacturing facilities so early on in my professional career has been a real highlight for me. I have gained so much invaluable experience and have been fortunate enough to work in such a great team at Almac.

What are your plans for the future? Which engineering sector/s are you interested in?

I’m thoroughly enjoying my current role in the pharmaceutical industry, no day is ever the same and I have had so many great opportunities to be involved in various projects. My current goal is to work my way up in my current role and I would love to get involved with more complex equipment, facility or utility projects.

Any advice to current Scholars? Or students thinking of applying to Arkwright?

The advice I would give to current scholars is to try and make the most of all the opportunities the scholarship offers. Attend as many of the Arkwright days as you can. If your sponsor is from a sector of engineering that you are interested in use this to your advantage. Ask them if they have time would they be able to answer any of your questions you have about that particular sector of engineering, even if you aren’t completely sure that’s the sector you would like to get into. One of the things I know I struggled with was finding a way to effectively use the scholarship funding. I would strongly encourage finding a way to use it to encourage the next generation to get into engineering, you gain so many skills from doing this. For example, I greatly improved my time management skills and leadership skills whilst organizing my STEM weeks and I have benefited from this ever since. To any students thinking of applying for the scholarship I would tell them to go for it, even if you’re not sure about it, you won’t know until you try. There are so many opportunities to gain from this scholarship even if you aren’t certain on what engineering discipline you would be interested in. I would still urge you to apply as it was due to the opportunities from this scholarship that I gained so many beneficial soft skills that have stayed with me through my studies and during the start of my career.