Provide an overview of all your rotations to date:
My first (and current) rotation is on the Level Crossing Removal Projects for North Western Program Alliance, facilitating train network upgrades predominately along Melbourne’s North Western rail corridor. My focus has been on the Glenroy Level Crossing Removal Project.
What does your typical workday look like?
I start the day prepared to take on any new activities that arise, so each day can vary substantially from the next. As my role is mainly administrative-based, I begin the morning by viewing the day’s meeting agenda. I then proceed to time-block my Outlook calendar in one-hour segments to focus on my scope of work. My projects are quite diverse, ranging from drafting the 2021 NWPA Sustainability Report, writing up sustainability submission credits for Glenroy Railway Station and participating in the broader identification of sustainability initiatives to integrate into the Alliance.
What has been the most interesting thing about your job?
Being a sustainability graduate has introduced me to the multitude of opportunities and innovations that lie within building sustainably throughout a project’s development phase. As someone whose greatly passionate about protecting our environment, it’s rewarding to see how heavily sustainability is integrated within all dimensions of the Level Crossing Removals Project, from design to construction. Not to mention, seeing a tangible outcome, a newly constructed station, from all our combined efforts is very satisfying!
What are the limitations of your role?
I’ve entered this role, and the graduate program as a whole, with the mentality that the limits are self-imposed. I’m a strong advocate that there is unbounded potential in this role which encourages me to be creative in finding solutions and share these big ideas.
What is something you wish you knew before you started?
Having more baseline knowledge about the construction industry before starting could have been beneficial however, the training resources provided alongside my incredibly supportive team both eased me into this new discipline smoothly.
How did you prepare for starting on the Graduate Program?
I vowed to take the graduate program as an opportunity to get outside my comfort zone and become a ‘yes’ person – you never know where it could lead!