Ex-Students Excel in STEM

Their passion for STEM was ignited at Mount St Benedict College (MSB) and now Bennies ex-students, Angelina Wehbe and Paige Iwatani from the Class of 2020 are pursuing careers in Engineering and inspiring other young women to do the same.

According to a 2022 report from the Australian Academy of Science only 16% of Australia’s 
STEM-skilled workforce are women. The Australian Government announced in February of this year additional funding to advance women in STEM through education and ambassadorship programs.   Angelina and Paige are wonderful examples of the success of STEM Programs at MSB.

Angelina Wehbe is currently studying a Bachelor of Engineering specialising in Mechatronics at Macquarie University where she is one of only four women in her course. She is also the founding Secretary of the Macquarie Machining Society which encourages students to use the Engineering Workshop to develop their technical, machining and engineering skills. She describes the vast Engineering workshop at the university as being ‘just like the Bennies workshop but with a lot more equipment’. The Workshop allows students to turn designs into reality, shortening the distance between theory and application. Angelina studied Information and Software Technology (IST) in Year 10 and Engineering Studies in Years 11 and 12 and says these subjects taught her to view the world with a STEM focus. This sparked her curiosity about the how and why things work and led to her decision to enrol in Mechatronics.              

Paige Iwatani is studying a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Diploma of Professional Engineering Practice at UTS. With an interest in joining the Defence Force when she was young, Paige is living out her dreams with a six-month placement as an intern at Bale Defence in Port Macquarie working on rough terrain vehicles.  Paige is the only woman in the Engineering sector of the business. Her dream of joining the Defence Force has matured over the years as she pursues a career in the defence industry with a particular interest in working on defence vehicles like Bushmasters.

Although both women are currently among a small number of women in their courses they carry with them a confidence that they belong. In addition to their formal studies whilst at Bennies, Paige and Angelina were involved in school-based STEM clubs such as the popular Coding Club, and travelled to the USA for the NASA Space Camp in 2018. Being in an environment with other girls, who all shared an interest in science, technology, engineering, or maths and where gender was not an issue allowed them to follow their interests and talents.

These positive experiences at Bennies helped them adjust to the huge disparity in the numbers of male and female students in their chosen courses. There have been some challenges but their love for the subject gave them confidence that they belonged. Paige has connected with other female defence engineers through the Lucy Mentoring Program at UTS. This program provides networking and support to women working in Engineering and IT. She hopes to one day return to the program as a mentor. Angelina is also passionate about encouraging students to go into Engineering. She worked as an Equity Ambassador for Macquarie University’s Widening Participation Uni. She worked with Year 7 students improving literacy skills while at the same time providing real life examples of pathways and learning opportunities beyond school.

MSB is proud of preparing students for life after school so they can thrive beyond the Red Brick Wall.  Angelina reports the benefit of practical skill development through learning programs such as Solidworks which she uses heavily in her degree.  The collaboration and team work skills she learned at Bennies through group projects and House activities have helped her integrate and collaborate with her fellow students at university – group learning being an essential part of the curriculum. Paige says the support and encouragement from her teachers at Bennies has propelled her to where she is now – encouraging her to try Engineering, persevering through early challenges and opening up new opportunities.

Bennies gave me opportunities to have a go. I participated in College Musicals, Future Problem Solving and the da Vinci Decathlon. I played soccer and rugby 7s. I joined all the STEM Clubs, and I got involved in House activities. There’s no judgement at Bennies, you can just try things. I encourage everyone to participate so you can find out what you like to do. 
– Angelina Wehbe

My Maths teacher in Year 7 and Year 12 was so fantastic and so encouraging. I feel like she changed the course of my career. 
- Paige Iwatani