Bay Harbour: October 06, 2021

30 Bay Harbour News Wednesday October 6 2021 Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
From the beat
to the ward
After 18 years in the New Zealand
Police Force, Ally Ealam has embarked
on a whole new career.
The former frontline senior sergeant recently graduated from
Ara Institute of Canterbury with a New Zealand Diploma in Enrolled Nursing
and is now working in aged care in Rangiora where she grew up.
Ally says she’d “seen it all” as a police officer. “I attended some pretty horrific
jobs over the years. Some of them I’ll never forget, but those experiences
made me the person I am today.”
Although Ally decided to step away from enforcement, she wanted to do
something that drew upon her many years of work experience and her past
involvement in St John Ambulance. Enrolled nursing fit the bill perfectly.
“I’d heard Ara was a fantastic place to learn. I loved the whole learning
environment and the buzz of learning - it reminded me of my Police College
days.”
During her studies, Ally had clinical placements in a variety of health
settings. “I got to watch two emergency caesarean sections,” she says. “That
was amazing - I cried under my facemask!”
When she was in the Police, Ally loved working with the elderly. Now that
she’s gained her nursing diploma, she’s thrilled to be working with seniors
again – this time as an enrolled nurse at Bainswood on Victoria in Rangiora.
“Ara equipped me with the skills and confidence to work with our elderly
and I’m really enjoying it. I’m looking after and connecting with the residents
and their families, getting experience in assessing and dressing wounds,
managing medication, working with our local GPs and palliative care nurses
and so much more. I feel absolutely privileged to be able to do what I do.”
“
There’s definitely a place
for women in engineering.
”
Mechanical engineer
Steph Crossan.
Digger driver becomes
design engineer
Not so long ago, Steph Crosson
(Ngāti Whātua) was working in the civil
works industry, driving a digger all day.
That was until she decided she wanted
something more out of life.
“
I loved the whole learning
experience and the buzz of
learning.
”
Enrolled nurse
Ally Ealam.
“I had this overwhelming feeling that it wasn’t enough,” she says.
Her job involved working around engineers and she started to become
interested in what they were doing and why. “I kinda just wanted to be
part of that.” So, she took the “daunting” step of enrolling in a mechanical
engineering degree at Ara.
Three years later and instead of driving a digger, Steph has the skills to
design one. “I could design the hydraulic systems, the components within it
and even the things the diggers are building.”
Before coming to Ara, Steph’s last experience of education was at high
school in Timaru. She never thought she’d come back to study, but once she
took the plunge, she thrived in Ara’s hands-on learning environment.
“Ara was great – the whole way through. I wouldn’t study anywhere else.
The class sizes were perfect to me because you got to know everyone, and
everybody helped each other out. The facilities were awesome, and the
tutors were great, really supportive.”
Steph says being a woman in engineering has been no problem. “There’s
definitely a place for women in engineering because we bring a new
perspective to problem solving and creativity. I never felt excluded at Ara – it
was a really supportive learning space and so much fun.”
International consultancy company Beca offered Steph a job as she neared
the completion of her studies and she says she couldn’t have asked for a
better end to her degree.
“I just really want to encourage anyone – it doesn’t matter your age or your
background – that study is a viable option. Life’s too short to muck around.
Just own your life and make it happen. Learn more, know more, do more.”