Three Central Queensland girls have been announced as finalists for an award to be presented in Brisbane on International Women’s Day (8th March).
The year-12 students from Moranbah, Mackay and Moura will fly to Brisbane for the Resources Awards for Women presented by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and Women in Mining and Resources Queensland (WIMARQ).
They were selected from a record field of candidates from throughout Queensland who attend Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) schools.
The finalists are:
• Madison Curran, one of 20 QMEA Ambassadors selected from 60 QMEA schools for 2019, is considering training as an electrician before studying to be an electrical engineer. Madison is school vice-captain for 2019. She has participated in community and fundraising events including Breast Cancer Awareness, Shave for a Cure, Moranbah Diabetes Colour Run and Ronald McDonald Day.
• Ameliija Swaff-Selff was accelerated into Year 11 in 2017 and is completing Year 11 and 12 over three years. She has a deep interest in a career related to science, technology engineering and maths. She undertook weekly work experience in the labs at the Queensland Nitrates Plant throughout 2018. Ameliija plays tennis at national and international level and is school captain and house captain at Moura SHS in 2019. She is also participating in the inaugural QRC/WIMARQ Girls Mentoring program in 2019 where they are mentored by a resources sector woman through their final year of high school.
• Mahima Vyas is seeking a career in chemical engineering. She is school vice-captain and student council treasurer. Engineering runs in her family, with her father an electrical engineer at Hastings Deering in Mackay and older sister studying Electrical Engineering in Brisbane. She participated in Run for MI Life raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention, marched in the Reclaim the Night walk through Mackay to raise awareness of violence against women and assisted in fundraising for the school’s Women’s Empowerment Club.
The Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Di Farmer will present the awards along with QRC President Rag Udd and WIMARQ Chair Maria Joyce.
“I congratulate the finalists on their achievements and their hard work which has led to them being recognised as finalists,” said QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane.
“It’s encouraging to see more young women seeking careers in our resources sector.
“The QMEA is playing a vital role in demonstrating the huge variety of careers available in this vital industry for our state and helping them step onto the pathways into those careers.”
The Resources Awards for Women, now in their 14th year celebrate and acknowledge women working in the resources sector and are part of the QRC’s goal for at least 20 percent women in ‘non-traditional’ roles by 2020. Currently the figure is 14 percent, up from 6 percent in 2006.
The awards will be presented at the QRC/WIMARQ International Women’s Day breakfast, presented by BHP on 8 March, followed by the South32 Inspire!Convention.
Winners of many of the categories become finalists in the Women in Resources National Awards to be presented in Sydney in September.
To see a list of the other finalists, click here. https://www.qrc.org.au/media-releases/recognition-for-top-resources-women/
Click here for more about and breakfast and convention and to book: https://bit.ly/2sepQ8b .
QRC is the peak representative body for Queensland ‘s resource sector. The Queensland resources sector provides one in every five dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 15,400 businesses and community organisations across the state, all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass.
The QMEA is the education arm of the QRC in partnership with the Queensland Government under its Gateway to Industry Schools program. It has 60 schools throughout Queensland.
