"Louise is a conscientious, reliable and self -motivated person. This is important in her role as a Structural Engineer and as an ambassador for STEM outreach and Diversity and Inclusion. Louise works to ensure the workplace is diverse and fair for all, which suits that ‘Quality Controller’ type. She believes diverse minds bring greater creativity and innovation. This represents the ‘Coach’ side of her personality since Louise wants to support as many people as possible and encourage individuals to get involved with STEM. "

"As a structural engineer, Louise calculates the forces which act in a building and ensures designs can be built, looking at how load is carried from its position to the ground. Louise has been fortunate to work on conservation projects with historic buildings like Hampton Court Palace. She loves helping to save the built history of the country. Louise is also a mental health first aider, providing support to her colleagues and promoting good mental well being within the workplace. She also helps to implement the Atkins Diversity and inclusion action plan as part of her role as D&I representative for infrastructure. Finally Louise also helps to organise STEM engagement activities and encourages others to participate."

"At school, Louise did GCSEs and A-Levels before enrolling on an integrated master’s degree in Civil Engineering. After graduation she specialised in Structural Engineering. Whilst Louise took a fairly traditional route, she feels that an apprenticeship would also be an incredible way to learn with the benefit of earning at the same time.A key driver for Louise was to prove that a career in engineering is not ‘just for the boys’. The advice she would give is to follow your heart regardless. Louise always loved buildings and so she followed that path despite questions about it being a male-dominated industry. Louise’s starting salary was £25,000."

"Outside of engineering, Louise is a dance fitness instructor and runs her own business teaching two ‘FitSteps’ classes per week! At the weekend she likes renovating her house, doing DIY or spending time in the garden. Louise is an ambassador for the Queen Elizabeth Prize, which is an extremely prestigious award. She talks to the public and colleagues about it to help promote engineering. She attended the Royal Academy of Engineering Awards at the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace and met Prince Charles – what an achievement! In the future, Louise would love to go into the business development side of the Cities and Development Market within Atkins. She would like the opportunity to build relationships with clients and help to deliver the result that they want. "

"A typical day for Louise involves checking her emails and then preparing calculations and reports to help communicate plans to clients. Louise has regular meetings as communication is key when working as part of a multi-disciplinary team. "

"Master’s degree in Civil Engineering"