30 October 2020
In partnership with Engineers Australia, Territory Generation is pleased to announce Gabrielle Killalea as the Diversity Scholarship 2020 recipient. A second-year Bachelor of Engineering Honours student at Darwin University, Gabrielle took some time to chat with Territory Generation about her background, what winning the scholarship will mean for her, and where she’s headed. Congratulations, Gabrielle!
TG: Why did you decide to study engineering?
GK: When I left high school, I didn’t know which avenue I wanted to take with my career, so I took a year off and travelled. On my travels I talked with people and asked them how they made the same decision I was struggling with. A common response I got was to do something I enjoy. When I got back to Darwin, I asked my family the same questions and I remember my Nana told me to “Do something rewarding that will have an impact on the world, choose a career you’ll enjoy because life is short, and you’ll spend most of it working”. What my Nana told me had the most impact on the decision I made to become an engineer. Throughout my 12 years of schooling, I enjoyed math and was always up for a challenge. After much thought and research, I decided that Engineering was the career for me. I have enjoyed all the challenges I have faced so far and believe I made the right decision five years ago.
TG: What does winning the Diversity Scholarship mean for you and your career?
GK: By winning the Diversity Scholarship, my hope is it will open doorways and help me kickstart my career. From the outset, the scholarship gives me confidence that there are those who believe in what I can achieve. It feels empowering to know that the hard work and effort that I’ve put into my engineering studies has been recognised.
TG: What are the best and/or most challenging parts of most about studying engineering?
GK: Engineering is vast subject and covers such a broad spectrum of knowledge that it can be daunting to try and tackle. Even deciding on a specialisation within the field of Engineering can be overwhelming. What I learnt while doing my thesis is that deciding on a topic is not where the difficulty stops; knowing where to go next is a greater complexity. The best part about studying engineering is the ability to take something that shouldn’t be possible and making it possible. Going from learning the theory to applying it to real situations is what excites me about engineering.
TG: Where do you see yourself in five years?
GK: In five years, I hope to be working on a large-scale project and be able to immerse myself into being an engineer.
TG: What’s your best productivity tip/hack?
GK:The aspects of my life that have helped me to become more productive are doing small amounts every day, planning ahead and breaking it down into smaller, more achievable chunks.
TG: A little-known or surprising fact about you.
GK: I have competed in several online Australian Mario Kart tournaments.
Gabrielle Killalea accepts the Diversity Scholarship 2020