At the University of Wollongong, in her first year of Engineering, Kimberly felt a pull towards Materials Engineering as she madly applied for every scholarship she could get her hands on before picking a major. As if by design, the scholarship Kimberly received happened to be for Materials Engineering and her cadetship with Bradken began one month into her degree, giving her the opportunity every summer to work at different Bradken sites, learn the business and see the practical application of the theories she was learning of how things were built and why. With people who were “thoughtful and loved to have a laugh” including the other cadets in her program – one of whom was the Vice President during her own tenure as President of the University's Metallurgy Society.

Over her four years at University, Kimberly laid the foundations for what has become a thriving career. In her first Bradken role as a Graduate Metallurgist, Kimberly was the only female employee out on the shopfloor. “I spent my first six months learning the trade work, I got my melting license and did the work on the floor with the guys including night shifts.”

Describing it as a “rich, exciting learning process” Kimberly says that starting her career this way helped her build her credibility as a Metallurgist and connect with the people that would be doing the work that she was engineering for.