Trinity Muller

I was homeschooled for my whole life and enjoyed maths the most. I liked how there was a right and wrong answer. Geometry and physics gave me a love for knowing how things work and answering the “why” question to my curiosity. When I was 15, a teacher suggested I might like structural engineering. After being inspired by engineers installing bore water pumps in Africa for Water for Africa, I decided that I wanted to study engineering so that I had the skills to help communities that needed infrastructure. I chose CQU because a friend told me that I could study engineering online and not have to move to the city. Being able to study while staying in my regional town was very important to me. After graduating year 12, I immediately started STEPS at CQU, which gave me excellent uni-ready skills and gave me direct entry into engineering!

My work involves a large variety of projects. We work over three specialisations of Civil, Structural, and Geotechnical engineering. Civil currently involves earthworks, road pavement design, and drainage. Structural involves designing any infrastructure you see that doesn’t move such as sheds, signs, houses, patios, footings, transportable buildings, mining infrastructure, and jetties. We have to be competent designing steel, timber, concrete, and plastic. Geotechnical involves soil investigations such as site classifications, retaining walls, lab testing and result interpretation, and field work.

The most obvious way my degree has helped me is giving me methods and techniques on how to analyse civil, structural, and geotechnical problems. We are being given the results of hundreds of years of accumulated knowledge for how to understand and do things. My degree also gave me: 

1. an understanding of basic underlying principles of how the physical world works. I still remember my first lecture on material properties and how we measure their mechanical abilities. Mind blowing!
2. skills and practice in researching and applying knowledge to new problems, technical report writing, professional communication and teamwork. 
3. knowledge to use programs ranging from Microsoft Office to SpaceGass and MATLAB. 
4. appreciation for how a professional engineer is expected to conduct themselves. 
5. exposure to and explanations on how to use Australian Standards.