Meg Panozzo

Ever met a musical bi-lingual history-buffing civil engineer?

Well, we’d like to introduce you to Meg Panozzo (BEng(Civil / BA). Sure, she studied Civil Engineering at Monash and sure, she now works as a civil engineer. But that doesn’t even scratch the surface.

For starters, she’s dead practical. Recognising that her dream of becoming a concert pianist would most likely land her in some godforsaken garret, Meg opted for a hedge-betting Arts/Engineering double degree. A choice that exceeded expectations. She’d imagined the Arts component would let her indulge her love of music while pursuing a reliable career in engineering. Good thinking, but it turns out that Arts also ignited her passion for history and Japanese language, creating a rich backdrop to her Engineering degree.

And what about the often posed question of women in engineering? When I’m 50, I hope my kids can say “mum is an engineer” and expect their friends to reply “oh yeah” without thinking anything of it Meg shares. If I got stopped on the street today, nine out of ten people would say, “Oh! So, what’s it like being a female engineer? Unfortunately, this scenario doesn’t just hold true for engineering. It applies to many other male-dominated STEM fields of science, technology and mathematics. Through her blog, Her Bold Universe, Meg hopes to empower career-driven women to crack through the glass ceiling.

Meg is undaunted by gender imbalance and its inherent bias. Her career to date has seen her take part in multibillion dollar highway projects and major infrastructure works, sometimes commuting between coasts to do so. Working with Cardno, I came to Sydney at the start of 2016 to work on the Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway upgrade. I worked in a multi-disciplinary team to deliver the design of one portion of the works, which was a part of the overall 155 km highway upgrade,she explains. It’s exciting to be a part of one of Australia’s largest infrastructure improvement works. I can’t wait until one day I can go on a road trip to Queensland and see my project a reality. Meg has recently relocated to NSW, continuing her career at Arup.

When asked to offer one piece of advice to budding engineers, Meg pauses. I have so many things to say! Above all, work hard. Be the best person you can, and the other things in life will come. Be bold, curious and passionate. Persistent and determined. And know that failure is just a perspective. Words of wisdom that should resonate with almost anyone. A musician. A linguist. An historian. A feminist. Words with reach far beyond an engineer.