State engineering honour comes as a surprise for student

The honour is awarded to only one young engineer each year

When USQ Engineering student Helen Imhoff received a call from Engineers Australia (EA) saying she was nominated for the 2009 National Young Engineering Officer of the Year, to say she was surprised would be an understatement.

'To win the national award you had to have won the Queensland award and I wasn’t aware that I had done that,' Helen laughed.

'When the state honours were announced I was in the process of moving from Emerald to Toowoomba so I missed the Queensland awards and had no idea I had won.'

Helen, who works for Main Roads and is in the final year of her Bachelor of Engineering Technology at the University, won the prestigious state honour, which rewards outstanding young engineer’s dedication and application and is awarded by EA, engineering’s peak body in Australia.

'Currently I am doing an accelerated program through the University and Main Roads, and during my study I have found USQ and the people there to be really supportive.

'To receive the award you must be nominated. I am on a couple of different committees for EA and one of the other committee members actually nominated me, so to be put forward by my peers was special.'

USQ Engineering lecturer Steven Goh, who teaches Helen, said Helen should be very proud of her accomplishment and that the honour was a reflection on not only her but also the University.

'This is a very prestigious award and each year there is only one winner statewide, so she has done exceptionally well.

'In the last few years we have had a few students from the University win a number of these awards so it speaks volumes about the quality and calibre of the University’s students and USQ Engineering, and is proof of the great programs we have here.'

Mr Goh was confident that the award would hold Helen in good stead as she continues her career at Main Roads.

'It is tremendous for her career in that her name is now in the limelight across the state and if she goes onto win the national award it will give her a huge boost.'

Although Helen missed the Queensland presentation she is hopeful of travelling to Canberra later in the year for the national awards.

Contact Details:
Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2559 or 0400 025 429