Swapping the classroom for the steel-caps

When Annika Clarke used to imagine her future career, she had pictured herself in the classroom rather than out in the field in the north-west. Changing her plans from teaching to engineering has turned out to be one of the best decisions she has ever made.  

Annika completed her vacation work with Monadelphous before graduating from Curtin University with a Civil Engineering degree and joining our Mining Minerals Northwest Minor Projects Team. She said she is now putting theory into practice working on the Remote Managed Aquifer Recharged North (RMARN) Project.  

“It is now 12 months on from starting at Monadelphous and having finished my studies and I can say that I’m thrilled with my choice and can’t imagine myself doing anything else,” she said. 

“My family are primarily in the health field so choosing engineering was a bit left field for me and I wasn’t too sure what I was getting into when I started my degree. 

“It was my experience in the vacation program at Monadelphous that cemented for me that I had chosen the right career path. 

“One of the best things about my role is that I’m given the opportunity to be exposed to various aspects of the business outside of engineering, including project management.” 

Annika said that she enjoys learning the ropes with the support of the team and loves that there is always something new to learn. 

“I love being on-site, with a good bunch of people to work with – there’s great comradery and a sense of family so it makes being away from my family a lot easier,” she said. 

When she’s not on-site, Annika spends time with her friends and travelling with her family, including an annual trip to Singapore.  

“My family and I have been to Singapore every year since I was little and that’s one of my favourite family traditions,” she said  

“I also have a lot of family in Singapore so it’s great to go and see them – it’s a very special place for me, and I’ve made a lot of great memories there. 

“Next on my holiday wish-list is to travel with my friends to Canada or Japan.” 

Annika is enjoying the FIFO life, using her RNR to really enjoy the time off to completely reset.