At just 21, Madison Stahlhut will be one of the youngest University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ) students to complete an engineering degree.

She has now added another feather to her ever-growing achievement list being appointed Young Ambassador for the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia, Queensland (IPWEAQ). IPWEAQ represents those involved in public works infrastructure and services to the community.

Madison will graduate in April 2020 as she wraps up a duel degree in Business and Commerce, but has already completed an engineering internship with Toowoomba Regional Council and will begin work at a private consultancy next month. She took on the IPWEAQ role to encourage young people to join the engineering profession. “I was particularly interested as I knew this would be a great platform to encourage young women to become engineers or join an engineering related field,” Madison said.

The duties of the young ambassador role include promoting engineering specifically for the public works sector and the benefits of being a member of IPWEAQ to the next generation. “I’ll present at branch and state conferences, as well as join the Young IPWEAQ committee which generates ideas for attracting new younger members and fostering growth of existing young members,” she said.

The appointment followed her success at the IPWEAQ Futures Challenge experience, winning with her thesis on using Toowoomba’s two largest dams as an untapped source of energy for the region.

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