Page 17 - QWE

<PATHWAYS>
Attended a Girls’ Programming Network workshop in Year 11
Took part in the National Computer Science Summer School
Studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Software) at UNSW Sydney on
a Co-op Scholarship
Worked
as a software engineering intern at Atlassian
17
{Careers with Engineering}
From a young age I have been fascinated by computers. I very quickly became the person in my family who would be asked to fix technical issues. That said, I wasn’t
has been soccer-playing robots. My team and I are competing in the Standard Platform League, which is part of the RoboCup Soccer Domain League!
introduced to programming as a career option until Year 11, when I attended a Girls’ Programming Network workshop. The network is a program developed by girls, for girls, with fun computer science activities.
UNSW Sydney has a career development scholarship called the Co-op program. As part of my scholarship,
I worked as a prototyper at Atlassian, where I got to work with designers to test and research the latest designs for the company’s products.
That one workshop opened up a whole new world for me. I signed up for the National Computer Science Summer School, a 10-day program for students going into Years 11 and 12. Suddenly, it clicked that I could use my maths and science skills together with my creativity as starting points for a career in software.
My dream job would be one in software that allowed me to make a direct, positive impact on the environment. I love nature and want to apply technology in ways to help nurture it. My advice to women wanting to be leaders in engineering is to connect with other women. Look for role models you can admire during the tougher times. Having support from others can make all the difference!
I’m now in my fourth year of software engineering at UNSW Sydney. One of the coolest projects I’ve worked on
5 Robocup Participant
Soccer and software might seem like an unlikely combination, but that’s just what Kirsten Hendriks helps bring together