Nicola completed her Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours) with First Class Honours from the University of Waikato in 2023 and is currently pursuing a Diploma in Engineering Management. Being the only female in her cohort presented many challenges along the way.

“Being the only female was a challenging and unique experience. It was a good learning curve and constantly made me want to push myself to be a top student,” says Nicola.

During her final year of study, Nicola submitted an ‘ergonomic assisted strawberry harvester’ as part of her capstone project. In recognition of her innovative prototype, Nicola was awarded the Technicians Choice Award and a ‘Highly Commended’ for the most impactful project from the University of Waikato.

“I got to apply my love of engineering and my passion for helping others by designing, building, and field-testing a prototype solution that produced positive results in improving the ergonomics of the workers. Receiving two awards for my work was an added bonus,” says Nicola.

In addition to her tertiary studies, Nicola also completed a two-year internship at Gallagher in the Research and Development Mechanical Department. Here, she was able to implement her theoretical knowledge in a world-renowned business.

Nicola’s future academic goals include working toward a chartership, as it’s the next step in proving one's engineering knowledge. She hopes to offer encouragement to others considering a similar career. “I strongly encourage other students to give engineering a go, as it opens so many doors. Your engineering degree is like a passport; once you have it, you can go anywhere.”

Nicola's time at St Paul’s Collegiate School allowed her to explore product design in the graphics classroom. With strong support from Mr Andrew Harries, assured Nicola to take up her mechanical engineering pathway.

“I was lucky to have so many teaching staff supportive of my goals including Mr Harries, Mr Bell, Dr McGrath and Mrs Lock. All of them were passionate and provided invaluable encouragement along the way,” says Nicola. 

Nicola currently works at Beca as a mechanical engineer in the building services section, where she is proud to be involved and contribute to projects across New Zealand that support local communities by providing high-quality living and working environments. Outside of engineering, she enjoys tramping and has booked the Routeburn and Abel Tasman tracks for walks later this year.