Design and passion

Lauren Harrell, the latest recipient of Top Energy’s Engineering Scholarship is on a fast track to success.

She is entering her third year at The University of Auckland and will be one of the first students ever to graduate with a conjoined Engineering and Design degree.

A hard worker with a love of cars, Lauren is a member of the University of Auckland’s Formula SAE team, helping to design and construct a small formula style race car each year to compete in a three day international student engineering competition.

Formula SAE-A gives her the opportunity to develop her skills in design, management, manufacturing, communication, research and business operations in a real-world environment.

Sustainability is a key issue for her, and she continually looks at ways to improve things. With the advent of Formula-E and electric racing cars, she believes the automotive sector will become more sustainable as innovations built into high performance cars make their way into mass market design.

Lauren has consistently shown her desire to excel from an early age. From winning an award at the Top Energy Regional Science Fair in Year 8 to achieving the top grade in the cohort for MECHENG 201 – introduction to Mechatronics, 2019.

Beyond her academic excellence, she has also demonstrated strong leadership qualities and a commitment to supporting fellow students to reach their potential in engineering and the sciences. She would like to encourage female interest and success, to introduce more diversity and innovation into the field.

For Lauren, winning Top Energy’s Engineering Scholarship means she can focus her efforts on her studies and in building her passion for cars into a career.

Lauren’s application on paper was impressive and during conversations with the judges, she showed ease and composure belying her young age. The judges mentioned that she decisively knew what she wanted, where she was going and was determined to get there.

Chief Executive Russell Shaw is impressed by the talented pool of students in the Far North and encourages them to get their applications in for the next selection round in August 2020.

The scholarship can open opportunities that may not have been previously available to the student.

The Top Energy Engineering Scholarship provides $8,000 per year of study, for a maximum of four years. It aims to assist Far North students who wish to study an engineering (honours) degree, and who have already achieved an excellent academic record.

The scholarship is part of a suite of sponsorship initiatives offered by Top Energy for the benefit of the Far North community.

These include the Electricity Rescue Helicopter - an essential lifeline for remote rural communities, and the Top Energy Business Development Fund, which offers grants to existing or new businesses which have the potential to grow the economy in the Far North.