Year 12 student Ashleigh Pomeroy has dreams of one day working in the commercial space travel industry.
The St Margaret’s student has always had an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and plans to study a Bachelor of Mechatronic Engineering next year.
“Mechatronics is a growing industry combining mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering, skills required in many careers. I was inspired to pursue this field of study at a QUT STEM camp I attended through school,” Ashleigh said.
Ashleigh says her fascination with space and robotics has been nurtured through opportunities like STEM Camp, where she was exposed to career opportunities, worked with mentors and obtained real-world experience.
“St Margaret’s opens doors to opportunities like QUT STEM Camp which was a rewarding experience and I have greatly benefited from the STEM skills it taught me.
“I have also had the opportunity to study a broad range of STEM subjects at school like Digital Technologies, which gave me the opportunity to experiment with robots and an early insight into the field of robotics and how broad it can be,” Ashleigh said.
St Margaret’s Principal Ros Curtis said STEM related jobs were some of the fastest growing employment areas both in Australia and globally.
“It is predicted 75 percent of all future jobs will require STEM literacy and skills, which is why we are working hard at St Margaret’s to offer students a robust STEM program, including a broad curriculum and real world, industry-related opportunities.
“Females are also still significantly underrepresented in STEM careers, so it is also our mission to break down any gender stereotypes and encourage our girls to have STEM-related ambitions and become scientists or engineers if they want to,” Ms Curtis said.
In 2020, St Margaret’s received an Excellence Award for Best STEM Program and the Head of Faculty Science and Technology Chris Dunn won an Outstanding Teacher of STEM Award.
This story was first published in Loving Nundah.