STEM CORNER: Highlighting Successful Women in STEM
Our new Maths Club initiative to connect students with women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-based careers has launched. We will share these explorations and learnings in the ‘STEM Corner’ of the newsletter.
This edition features an interview from Harriet O’Connor (pictured left) of Year 9 with one of our School ICT Officers, Miss Claudia Pellegrini (pictured below). Miss Pellegrini is a former student of MSCW, as an alumna from the 2018 graduating cohort.
HARRIET: When did you first become inspired in the STEM field?
MISS PELLEGRINI: My first inspiration came from starting the Information, Software and Technology elective course in Years 9 and 10. I found myself incredibly captivated by the internal processes behind a variety of software. I also found myself naturally gifted with computers, or at least I’d like to think so, as well as having a natural interest in computing technology as a whole!
Having this interest kept me empowered to continue the course into Year 11 and 12, and later into my role as a School ICT Officer here at MSCW.
Additionally, as a young adult growing up in the age of the internet, I’ve learned through first-hand experience just how beneficial technology can be in an educational setting, and how these information processes can be found just about anywhere; in workplaces (varying from retail and corporate), in data collection, and in computer hardware/software. It’s through furthering my knowledge in this field that I’ve been able to remain inspired to pursue STEM!
HARRIET: Which subjects/ extracurricular activities at school contributed / helped most with your chosen career?
MISS PELLEGRINI: Subjects in particular that I found helped me immensely were:
- Information and Software Technology (IST) – Year 9/10 Elective
- Information, Processes and Technology (IPT) – Year 11/12 Elective
As I mentioned previously, I ended up being 1 of 6 students that pursued IST during Year 9 and 10 in 2015-2016. Throughout the subject, I was taught about the key information processes, as well as delving into website creation, robotics and learning how to design solutions when faced with particular issues; is it a hardware issue? Or is it a software issue? Perhaps it is environmental, or is it an issue that lies with the user?
IPT, for my graduating year, was the continuation of the IST course. I was the only student in my graduating year to put IPT down as my top choice as an elective, and because of that I was given the option to complete the course externally through a host school. A lot of the course’s content continues on from what is learned in IST, with the exploration of database management systems, project management, communication systems and options of looking into other areas of interest; such as transaction processing systems (EFTPOS), multimedia systems or other systems of technology. This subject, however, may be known as Enterprise Computing for today’s classes.
While these courses have changed a lot since I graduated in 2018, I found them incredibly helpful in my chosen career. A lot of the skills I learned in IST and IPT have been put to work in my active role at the College, including triage and problem solving skills that would otherwise have to be learned on the job.
Another subject that I am aware of is either called Software Design and Development or Software Engineering for students in Years 9-12. If you are interested I highly suggest looking into what sorts of subjects, such as the ones I have mentioned, are available!
HARRIET: In your opinion, what is the most important skill for someone who wants to work in ICT or technology?
MISS PELLEGRINI: Great question! In my opinion, there are a lot of great skills that come in handy when working in ICT or technology. The most important, however, would likely be… adaptability. The ability to adapt to change, whether that be in the workplace environment, or when faced with very sudden change, is incredibly helpful; especially when things seem to be taking a turn for the worse! Technology, as I have found while working in ICT, can be rather temperamental at times, and there will be moments where nothing goes as planned.
Working with change, as sudden or slow as it may be, is the most important thing you can do in this job. Though keep in mind this skill comes with time and patience, and isn’t learned with a click of a finger! Perseverance and determination will be your best friend when faced with change, and will help you in learning to become adaptable.
With ICT and technology ever-changing as we progress into a rapidly approaching technological future in education, I’ve been witness to new changes, especially in the rise and fall of the COVID-19 pandemic. The introduction of Zoom as a software solution, for example, was an especially arduous and difficult change for all in a time of uncertainty and social distancing. But being adaptable to this change allowed me to provide as much support to staff and students as I could, and ensure that the switch from in-person to online learning was as seamless as possible. These changes aren’t without their problems, however, but that comes with the territory!
HARRIET: What is your favourite thing about working in your old school?
MISS PELLEGRINI: My favourite thing, honestly, is being able to work with the teachers and staff who have seen me grow up over the past 10 years. While it was terrifying at first, jumping so quickly from being a student to a staff member, I found that all the staff here at MSCW were incredibly accommodating and eager to work with me.
Since starting in my role as School ICT Officer in 2019, I have seen many teachers who used to teach me leave the profession, and in turn I have been able to see new teachers and staff join the MSCW community. While it is sad to see long-term teachers and staff leave our community, it is also good to see all the amazing staff that have come to join us in the meantime.
A little side note; it is also really nice to work in the College’s library, which is where I used to spend a lot of my time in my years as a student. Getting to see all the students who use the space is lovely, in my opinion, and I hope to provide a safe space for students to come and ask for help if they ever need it!
HARRIET: Could you explain a little bit about what you typically do in a day of work?
MISS PELLEGRINI: A typical day of work in the Jarnosse Library often involves taking the day as it comes; sometimes we just don’t know what we are going to walk into when we arrive at the College. I work alongside Mr Chung, and together we check on the status of the devices around the College; Macbooks (BYOD, loans and staff), TVs, AV panels, etc. and from there, we look into any issues that had been raised by staff through our ticketing system.
Of course, we also have the times set aside to help students with any issues you may be having during the day; before school, recess and lunch we make ourselves available to you! We ensure as best as we can that we are available for students to talk to during these times and answer any questions students may have regarding using their devices or if they are having issues.
No day is the same! Anything can happen!
HARRIET: What do you think is the best way to get students interested in your field?
MISS PELLEGRINI: In all honesty, if students have any sort of interest in my field of work, or would like to learn more, I am more than happy to open up conversation! As I mentioned above, myself and Mr. Chung set aside time before school, recess and lunch for students to visit us. That doesn’t mean you have to have an issue to come and see us! If you have questions for us regarding our work, want resources on ICT, or just generally want to learn more, the library is the perfect place to be.
I am part-time here at the College, but would be glad to chat to any students who have interest in the field of ICT.
Otherwise, if talking to us is a bit too scary (don’t worry, I know the feeling!) then I would say… research! If there is a topic within my field of work that piques your interest, say for example website creation and design, then research that topic! Find out more about it. Look for online resources, tutorials, or even locate resources we have here in the College library that cater to that topic. Self-directed learning is something I strongly advocate, as that was what I did a lot of during my Year 11/12 HSC years.
HARRIET: So far, what is the most challenging project you have worked on, and how did you accomplish it?
MISS PELLEGRINI: For the past 4 and a half years here at the College I’ve seen a lot of projects come and go, with a few being more challenging than others. The most challenging projects, more often than not, aren’t even visible to you! A lot of what I work on with Mr. Chung remains in the background, supporting students every day without you all realising it.
For example, one of the most challenging projects involved large upgrades to our wireless network over the holiday break. This included a lot of replacing old devices with new ones, specifically the devices known as Wireless Access Points (WAPs); these are what give you girls access to the internet and Wifi! Replacing all these Wireless Access Points had to happen in a single day, and involved a lot of running around with contractors and technicians to unplug all the old WAPs and replace them with brand new ones. From then on it was nothing but testing and confirming that they were working, and chasing up WAPs that were not. I know it’s a lot of technical jargon, but that’s what a lot of this job involves!
Another project which was especially challenging was mapping the school’s network in a spreadsheet, as it had never been done before! This involved starting the map from scratch, and going around the College to manually check where every single data port goes and writing down that information in that spreadsheet I mentioned. This was a tedious process that took a very long time, especially in between other upgrades and installations similar to the one above.
So I’d say those two are tied for the most challenging! And I am sure there’s bound to be a project in the future that surpasses those two.
HARRIET: What is the best part about your profession?
MISS PELLEGRINI: The best part about my profession is being able to help students and staff. Nothing is better than being able to solve your problems and help you all to the best of my ability. As I mentioned earlier, I want to provide a safe space for students to come to myself and Mr Chung if you have any issues. That still stands! At the end of the day, my goal is to provide as much support as possible with ICT-related issues, and give students someone to talk to if you have any major concerns regarding your technology use here at the College. Seeing staff and students happy that their problems are resolved is enough for me!
Thank you, Miss Pellegrini, and well done, Harriet!
