PowerLab honours students graduate and find employment success
In December 2018 Honours graduate Aimee Marchesi received a Graduate Position with Comcare in Canberra.
Testimonial from Aimee Marchesi, Intern, Honours Student, Research Assistant
What research did you do while you were in PowerLab?
Whilst I was in the PowerLab the primary research I completed was on my honours thesis topic, this was “What feature(s) of green space can we improve to create environments which benefit both young boys and girls equally?” This research investigated whether green spaces i.e. parks of a higher quality resulted in a greater number of children present and participating in increased levels of physical activity compared to parks of a lower quality.
When did you graduate?
I graduated from UOW in 2017 having completed three years of my Bachelor of Public Health degree majoring in Epidemiology. I continued my studies to complete my honours with the PowerLab, finishing this in 2018.
What was your involvement with PowerLab? eg. Role, how long you were involved with PowerLab.
Initially I started in the PowerLab as an Intern which commenced in January 2017. After the Internship I completed one of my research placement subjects in my final year in the PowerLab. From here I continued my studies and explored more in depth research by completing my honours. After completion and submission of the honours project, I began to work for the PowerLab as a Research Assistant, co- managing data collectors and contributing reports towards a larger body of work.
What were your experiences like while you were in PowerLab eg Roles, activities?
I was able to experience a range of roles, from being an intern, a placement student, an honours student and then an employee which all allowed me to undertake many different activities throughout my time in the PowerLab. Some of the key activities were learning to use the statistical software program, STATA, building on my knowledge and use of Excel, conducting research and writing literature reviews and learning how to present data and key findings to the other members of the PowerLab. One highlight was taking part in and supporting the PowerFest’18 Conference, as well as attending PowerTalk seminar’s, to hear from guest speakers in the field of Public Health and see what others have achieved in their Public Health research careers.
What motivated you to get involved with PowerLab (career aspirations?)
I was drawn to the research undertaken by the PowerLab, as the name implies, on Population, Wellbeing and Environmental research. Two of my key interests are research and data analysis and I was able to explore both interests in the PowerLab while exploring research in the field of Public Health.
What have you been doing since leaving PowerLab and how did you come about this opportunity? Since leaving the PowerLab I have moved to Canberra to take on a Graduate Job with Comcare. Comcare’s work is centred on key strategic priorities that ensure safer and healthier workplaces. I am currently working in the Workforce Strategy team, where my role consists of analysing workforce data and reporting on the outcomes. I came across this job opportunity through the UOW newsletter.
How did your experience at PowerLab help prepare for this next step in your career?
The PowerLab helped me to be more confident in effectively communicating the research I had undertaken and had given me the opportunity to be a part of a lot of different activities that helped to develop me professionally and academically. The PowerLab also gave me insight into what working in a professional office is like and I continue to use this as a base to continuously push to learn more and acquire new skills.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I can see myself staying with Comcare over the next few years and in this time, I would like to experience some of the different areas of work within the agency that have expression of interest spots available.
Would you have any tips for other students interested in Public Health?
If you are interested in Public Health, I would say to just get involved with any upcoming Public Health events, this will show you how broad and how many different career opportunities are out there that are relevant to the field of Public Health. It is very interesting and rewarding to be contributing to and having an impact on community health outcomes, whether this be through public health research, working on public health policy or through epidemiology, analysing trends to determine patterns in health outcomes. Everyone’s career paths are unique, each step along the way contributes something valuable to help you reach your career goals, all the hard work will definitely pay off.
