IGNITED winner - Ashley Lamble

With an interest and aptitude in maths and science, engineering was a natural choice for Ashley Lamble. Based at the Waurn Ponds Campus, she is currently studying a Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Commerce.

Ashley was awarded the IGNITED scholarship after achieving an ENTER of 92.6 in her final year at Strathcona Baptist Girls’ Grammar School.  She receives a $10,000 scholarship and academic mentoring.

Wanting to undertake a broad engineering course, she was drawn to Deakin as it offered a good broad first year, allowing her to get a taste of the different facets of engineering. Ashley has chosen a broad combined degree enabling her to keep her future options open.

Presently, she has an interest in infrastructure which is steering her towards civil engineering. “I will most likely specialise in civil engineering. I like the idea of helping society, benefiting the community. Taking something that has always been there and applying new technologies to it, making it better.”

Ashley has always been interested in maths and science. She likes working to discover an answer, arriving at a definite answer. She took accounting in Year 12 as it was the only thing that fitted into her timetable and discovered she liked it as well. Although she worked hard at school she says it didn’t feel like work to her as she liked what she was doing.

Ashley is aware the subjects she has chosen are traditionally male dominated, but recommends that if girls are interested in maths and science they should persevere and keep going. “Very few girls in co-ed schools do maths. I have a friend that goes to a co-ed school and in a class of 30 there is only one girl in the physics class. I went to an all girls’ school so it was a bit different for me. A lot of people say girls can’t do it but I think if you like it stick with it and keep going,” she says.