In university, an Australian guest professor taught a ‘Public Economics’ paper, which essentially gave him free reign to teach whatever he wanted. Coming from an energy background both at a firm and policy level, he chose to impart his knowledge in the paper changed to ‘Energy Economics’.
That was when I first thought about the energy sector as a place to start my career. As much as I have no idea what engineers do (maths? Drawing pictures?), I felt as if I could contribute to the wider efforts to get Aotearoa to Net Zero, and Contact was the place to do this!
Figuring it out at uni
I studied Economics and Management at Otago university and then went on to do a Master of Commerce in Economics at Canterbury university. Writing a thesis was vastly different to taking classes but both have prepped me well for working life. Learning about a broad range of topics allowed me to have multiple perspectives when approaching a problem to be solved. University also forced me to figure out how I learn, which I now apply at work when taking in and synthesising information.
Work aligning with personal values
As for my personal values, my community and environment have been at the centre of what I do all my life. Contact has committed to the goal of Net Zero, wanting to do everything they can to fully decarbonise New Zealand. I have seen this in action with Contact decommissioning carbon-heavy assets such as the Wairakei Power Plant and the Taranaki Combined Cycle Power Station, taking the necessary steps to ensure their goals are met. Contact’s strategy is also forward facing; investment in future renewable energy projects shows that work is being undertaken to secure intergenerational wellbeing for our tangata and taiao.
Getting started at Contact
I have never had more coffee and lunch meetups in my life as I have had in the first few weeks of working. Everyone I have met in the Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) office has been entirely welcoming and they will chat away with you anytime. They have been the key to easing me into work and I feel really comfortable asking questions (apparently no such thing as a stupid question here, or maybe I’m just yet to come up with one).
My first impressions of the team were:
I aim to do two things within my career: align my work and behaviours with my values of societal and environmental justice, and take all the opportunities to develop, learn and grow. Contact provides an avenue to do these things, providing a space to professionally progress with the support of your team, all while working towards a better way of life by taking care of our beautiful country, Aotearoa.