Piper
Passion, Purpose And People
Piper’s engineering dream stemmed from seeing the contribution her nana and mum have had within the Samoan community she grew up in. And she wanted to contribute to the world in her own way. With a big interest in STEM subjects like maths and science, she decided to pursue a career in engineering. Now she works as a Process Engineer for the Industrial Team at Beca and her mahi is driven by her passion to solve solutions that benefit the people and the planet.
Solving Problems Is No Regular 9 To 5
My days involve quite a bit of a variety depending on the projects I am working on. I split my time between meetings, technical work such as creating simulations and calculations, project support work, collaborating with others, and researching different areas to develop my skill set. I occasionally go to large industrial plants on site visits to see equipment and talk to operators about the operation of the plant. Working within a consulting company I also have meetings and workshops with clients, either online, in the Beca office or at the client site.
My current projects are in decarbonisation and evaluating different processing/site options based on carbon emissions. My hope is to continue to work on projects that help to contribute to mitigating the impacts of climate change.
A Career Developed From Childhood
There were multiple reasons I decided to pursue a career in engineering. Primarily my interest in maths and science, and the inspiration I got from seeing the contribution my nana and mum have had in the Samoan community and wanting to contribute to the world in my own way.
I graduated with a Bachelor in Chemical and Process Engineering with first class honours and a minor in Energy Process Technologies from the University of Canterbury in 2022. In the summers of 2020 and 2021, I completed internships at an Engineering Consultancy Firm and a chemical process Start-Up company. These helped me to broaden my skills and experience what working as an engineering consultant is like.
Purpose Generated, Solutions Driven
Engineering utilises the skills I gained in maths and science subjects to create solutions for real world problems. I can contribute to solutions for issues facing the Pacific Islands such as climate change and sea level rise.
Engineering works on real world problems and I can contribute to solutions for issues facing the Pacific Islands such as climate change and sea level rise”
“Engineering works on real world problems and I can contribute to solutions for issues facing the Pacific Islands such as climate change and sea level rise”
There is so much variety that comes from being across a range of projects. Working with a diversity of people with different strengths, visiting sites and doing different tasks keeps me engaged and excited to work. I also find it super rewarding knowing that the calculations I complete and designs I create are going out into real world scenarios and I can see the tangible impact I am having on the world around me - particularly on the environmental projects.
Engineering is an empowering career pathway. You can see the impact you have and can work in areas that interest you that benefit the people, and the planet”
Mahi For Positive Impact
Tech and engineering are great ways to influence the world around us. They require dynamic thinking and the best solutions arise from having a diverse group of people working together as it incorporates different priorities, values, and outlooks on life. It is a really empowering career pathway as you can see the impact you have and can work in areas that interest you and ones that benefit the people, and the planet.
“Engineering is an empowering career pathway. You can see the impact you have and can work in areas that interest you that benefit the people, and the planet”
