Girls with a passion for maths and science were given a front-row seat to the wide range of STEM careers in the sugar industry when they visited a Burdekin sugar mill.
The students, from Burdekin and Townsville high schools, gave up a day of their mid-semester holidays to go on an excursion to Wilmar Sugar and Renewables’ Invicta Mill as part of their involvement in the STEM Changemakers program.
They heard about the different pathways into STEM careers with Wilmar from three of the company’s female employees: Design Draftsperson Emily Biviano, Laboratory Coordinator Peta Di Bella and Electrical Apprentice Meg Westwood. Each spoke about what they studied at school, how they got into their current role, what they do on a typical work day, and the best advice they could share.
Now in its second year, STEM Changemakers empowers under-represented girls in regional areas to connect with local STEM industries. The program was developed by high school teacher and nationally recognised STEM champion, Sarah Chapman from Townsville. It links girls with industry role models to inspire and encourage them to think bigger about where their love of maths, science and technology could take them.
The visit to Invicta Mill was co-ordinated by Wilmar’s Manager Design Engineering Nina West, who was an industry mentor for last year's inaugural STEM Changemakers program.
Nina said it was great for the girls to be able to see a sugar mill up close and learn more about the industry.
“We had a member of the Agriculture team on each of the buses that transported the students to Invicta,” Nina said. “On the way, they spoke about all of the science that goes into growing sugarcane and the technology that’s used in our farming operations.”
At Invicta, the girls were welcomed by Manager Operations Harrison Slogrove, did a site tour, worked on an engineering challenge and learned about career pathways.
Nina said the aim of the program was not only to broaden students' understanding of the range of STEM careers available, but also the diverse pathways they could take to achieve them – something she believed Sugar and Renewables did well.
“Girls from the regions we operate in are statistically less likely to pursue a career in STEM. It’s nice to think we might have played a small part in changing that.”
Invicta Mill Manager Mechanical Engineering Daryl Stockham was the bus driver and tour guide for the
STEM girls
Evie from Townsville and Sophia from Ayr were given cardboard models of a Wilmar Sugar and
Renewables locomotive to assemble
Manager Design Engineering Nina West (right) facilitated the engineering session
Wilmar’s Meg Westwood spoke to the girls about the types of work she does as an electrical
apprentice. Photos supplied: Wilmar
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