Sally Yang

5:00 AM

I am gently awoken by the soothing song For You by Angus and Julia Stone. If I choose to press snooze, I get jolted up 10 minutes later by another alarm; a very loud bird call from a scene in the movie The Croods. I sit up on my bed, have my morning glass of water, then start getting ready for the day ahead.

6:00 AM 

I pack my uniform, lunch, and most importantly – snacks, then head out the door to start walking to work. Depending on the time of year, I get to catch the sunrise in the middle of Heffron Park. 

 
6:45 AM 

I will have reached work by this time, changed into my uniform, put my lunch in the fridge, and settled down with a cup of tea, ready to go through emails and plan out my day.

7:00 AM

I usually start my days closer to 8am, but today my manager and I are heading out to the Kings Park site to discuss installation of an air extraction system with some contractors.

8:30 AM

We arrive at Kings Park, greet the Koi fish in the pond in the front garden, then head in to discuss with the Site Manager and contractors about mechanical and electrical installation, access points, air flows, timeline and all things in between.

11:00 AM

Back at the Botany site, I revise my Scope Definition document to reflect discussions regarding the air extraction system with the contractors in preparation for tomorrow’s Kick-Off Meeting with all stakeholders of the project. 

12:00 PM

Lunch time! Today I have chicken with sweet potato mash and a quick beans, beetroot and corn tossed salad. The other graduates and I sit around the lunch table for a good midday catch up about our weekends, some site issues and how amazing bubble tea is. 

12:30 PM

Back to work. Roughly between 12pm to 1pm is when everyone is having lunch and there’s a bit of chatter in the office, so for the next half hour I like to work on something a bit lighter, such as preparing my Bi-Monthly Review spreadsheet, replying to emails, or general organisation of my files.

1:00 PM

Our 4 electrolysers here on site are central to the manufacturing process and are a big part of my responsibilities. Frequent voltage analysis is important to ensure efficient and safe operation of the plant. I run the electrolyser spreadsheet and complete the analysis. I also have an action due soon to review our Trip and Alarm procedures, so I jump onto that as well. 

3:00 PM

I have my mentor meeting scheduled now. My mentor is in the Finance department at Ixom’s Melbourne Head Office. I’ve never met her in person (I haven’t met a lot of people I’ve worked with at Ixom due to COVID), but Microsoft Teams makes it so easy to connect with co-workers in other offices and sites. We chat about everything from workload to skill development to our weekends.

4:00 PM

I pack up, change out of my work boots into runners and start my walk back home. When I get back, I immediately change and head out for a run to the beach (if I don’t head back out straight away, my mind will quickly find reasons to take a nap instead). I don’t always have the time or energy for it, but I love a good post-work run to clear my head. 

6:00 PM 

I thank my past self for doing all the grocery shopping over the weekend because by this time I’m starving. I get started on a recipe that I put together when I was living away from home for an internship back in my final year of uni – chicken pesto pasta! I don’t know how to cook pasta for one, so I end up with 5 or so serves for the next few days. I also make a quick apple turnover in the air fryer for dessert.

8:00 PM 

By this time, I will have had dinner, cleaned up, brushed my teeth (to prevent me eating even more), and settled down with a good book or Netflix. I’m currently watching The Good Doctor. Sometimes I jump on a call with family or friends back in Melbourne during this time as well. 

10:00 PM 

I fill up my glass with water for the morning and tuck into bed, ready to tackle the next day ahead.