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7 January 2016
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Civil engineering and music might not be two things that we automatically put together, but it’s been a winning combination for our former student, Joanna Anderson, in a new chapter of her burgeoning career.
The Institution of Civil Engineers has named 23-year-old Joanna as their North West Chairman’s Apprentice for 2016, meaning she’ll be working alongside and mentored by some top figures in the area, including ICE President, Sir John Armitt, who was in charge of the infrastructure for the 2012 London Olympics.
Joanna, who studied Design Technology, Music and English Language & Literature with us at A Level, scooped the honour having attained a master’s degree in Civil Engineering at Liverpool John Moores University. She currently works as a traffic signals specialist with Mouchel Consulting in Liverpool.
Joanna said: “Students always say that it’s too late for them to get into civil engineering because they haven’t studied it already, or they didn’t have maths or physics. Well, I didn’t have maths or physics and didn’t know what I was doing when I got to university. If I can get a master’s in it and now have a job in civil engineering then they can too.”
The ICE has over 6,000 members in the North West alone, and Joanna was the last up to be interviewed for the chairman’s apprentice role, but she brought with her an eye-catching CV including music, charity work and teaching, proving that determination, drive and a little creativity can be as important as subject choice in your career path.
Joanna’s musical skills led to her penning several amusing, engineering-inspired songs, which have been a big hit in her working sector on YouTube, and these contributed to ICE Chairman, Gareth Scott, applauding her “infectious enthusiasm.”
You can see her collaboration with the ICE for their song for the 2015 Engineer’s Week here:
But, is she the only person to ever write a song about civil engineering?
She said: “I’m not actually! When I was at uni and I started writing songs about it, I found a song on the internet that someone had written over the top of ‘Hey There, Delilah’ called ‘Hey There, You Structure’ and it was all about a bridge. I thought it was wonderful!”
If you are thinking about studying Design Technology or Music at A Level, click our course links below to find out more:
http://www.bsfc.ac.uk/courses/as-a-level-level-3/design-technology
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