Sequana is excited to welcome Hannah Walmsley to the Sequana team as Project Engineer.
Hannah has over seven years consulting experience with GHD in Water Infrastructure Projects and is a highly skilled civil engineer with strong interpersonal skills. She has held various civil engineering and project management roles within GHD and most recently was the Principal’s Engineer for the Wentworth to Broken Hill Pipeline.
Her experience and integrated skill set makes Hannah a highly competent, valued and sort out resource for Sequana.
This is her story.
The past year for me has been one of substantial growth and change as I pushed myself to seek confronting challenges that tested my resilience and determination. I set off on a sabbatical to travel and give myself time to reflect on my personal and professional life. It was the best decision.
I fell into Engineering. I chose water. I’ve stayed ever since. My career started in consulting and provided me with a strong foundation supported by many incredible professionals across the water industry and wider business. I enjoyed the challenging and interesting projects I had the opportunity to work on, spanning from planning to delivery.
There are two career highlight projects that will stay with me. The first being Sydney Water’s Malabar Wastewater Treatment Plant Process and Reliability Renewals. It was my second major project out of University. I jumped at the opportunity to be based at an operational treatment plant and part of an integrated project team consisting of multiple organisations. It provided insight into the effectiveness of collaboration to provide solutions within a complex brownfield environment.
The second is the Wentworth to Broken Hill Pipeline. A major infrastructure project delivered in response to a severe drought and in an incredibly short timeframe. As part of the owner’s engineers team, my role spanned from preparation of tender documents through to site surveillance during construction. It was inspiring to see the whole project team, from many different entities, come together and focus on the end goal of securing Broken Hill’s water supply.
On my sabbatical I found myself giving a presentation to high school students in Stockholm about my career. I spoke specifically about the Wentworth to Broken Hill Pipeline and the challenges that Australia faces with our limited and precious water resources. During these presentations I felt my passion for the industry, and the tangible benefits these projects provided, and knew I wanted to return.
I thought about what I wanted to achieve by coming back to the Industry and I eventually articulated my purpose and drive as follows:
To improve the quality of life for people and the environment by using our water resources responsibly.
On my sabbatical I also spent five months living at a Siberian Husky Kennel in Varangerbotn, Norway. I spent my time caring for and training the dogs for racing and tourism. The owner of the kennel is a Sami lady who, along with other members of her family, own reindeer herds in the Finnmark region. I was fortunate to be able to learn from and work with the reindeer herders during my stay. There is quite an art to catching a reindeer by the antlers!
Upon my return to Australia, I felt it was time to experience the culture and operation of a different organisation. Enter Sequana. The mix of seasoned professionals with a relatively new company was attractive. Sequana could offer proven industry experience and connections with the opportunity to contribute to the growth and development of a young company. When I had my interview with Frank, I could hear his passion and drive for making an impact in the water industry and I knew it was the opportunity I was looking for. I’ve had a very supportive and warm welcome to the Sequana family, and I look forward to working with and learning from the wider team.
The most challenging experience on my sabbatical was a solo hike from Oslo to Trondheim in Norway, spanning 700 km over six weeks and living mostly out of my tent. No matter what I was going through each day, I knew I was thankful for the fact that I was in a country where water was readily available and that I only had to carry what I needed each day. Water is essential. Water shouldn’t be taken for granted. The reliability and longevity of our water resources should be protected. I’m here to be a small part of making that happen.
