What's your background?
I am a refugee born in Afghanistan. Because my older brother worked with American troops and coalition forces in Afghanistan, my family and I had to leave our country. And since I was not safe, my family decided to send me to Australia, where I came by boat as an unaccompanied minor. I was in Christmas Island and Darwin detention centres for around two years. My family were separated all around the world and I have not seen them in ten years.
I completed my high school in Queensland and obtained a full scholarship from The University of Adelaide to study a Bachelor of Engineering Civil & Structural (Honours). During my time at university, I had the opportunity to work at the university union and student care breakfast club on campus.
What's your job about?
I am currently working on the North-South Corridor ground investigation project. I am responsible for supervising the delivery of core tray soil samples, capturing laboratory soil results on the logs, and updating lab results on Excel spreadsheets. My focus is on taking high-quality photos of a soil sample to make it easy to identify visually what is on the ground. In addition, I also support the team at drilling sites and borehole inspections.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the Aurecon Geotechnical team. I think someone with a different background could do my job. What is important, however, is to have interest in soil and to develop good geotechnical knowledge at university and have keen attention to details.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest thing about my job is working in an inclusive and collaborative environment. Everyone shares the same vision and there is always professional growth.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
The advice I would give to myself when I was at university would be: To live in the moment. Always take the time to appreciate what you have now instead of what happened in the past and what will happen in the future.