Scroll down
My name is Faith Omokhuale. I am 22 and attended RMS from year 7-13 ( 2012-2020). I am in the final semester of my integrated master’s in civil engineering degree from the University of Surrey.
Through this, I have also undertaken two summer placements and a year-long placement year during my studies to understand civil engineering further and gain real-world experience.
What inspired your passion for civil engineering, and how has your time at RMS shaped your academic and career aspirations?
At RMS, I enjoyed learning and playing sports, mainly Netball and Athletics. During my GCSE years, I achieved grades I was very pleased with, which was representative of my hard work, most notably my 9 in maths and 7 in Spanish. My A-level options were hard to choose as there were many subjects that I enjoyed thoroughly. Still, at the time, I was unsure what exactly I wanted to study at university and what my future career plans were. Ultimately, I selected Maths, Economics, and Physics as they were subjects I was interested in, believed I could excel in, and would keep my options open for a wide range of university courses. Taking these subjects allowed me to consider both economics and finance courses as well as engineering courses ( as prompted by my parents and the Head of Physics, Ms Higgs(nee Black)). As my research into the two types of courses progressed, I found that both sectors interested me. However, I realised that pursuing an engineering degree would still allow me to explore economics and finance later in my career, whereas the reverse would not be as straightforward. This led me to focus my applications on engineering courses.
When deciding on a specific engineering discipline, I reflected on my interests. Although I enjoyed Chemistry at GCSE, I had not taken it at A-level, which ruled out chemical engineering. While I appreciated the academic rigour of physics, my accidental references to “astrology” instead of astrophysics hinted it wasn’t for me. I gravitated towards civil engineering because I was more interested in urban landscapes and infrastructure than cars, machines, or electronics. Civil engineering also felt like a less common path among my peers at RMS, which made it even more appealing.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Maths classes with Ms Shah and Ms Durnford, in addition to my physics and economics classes. My A-level journey, however, coincided with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant I did not sit my exams. Initially, this seemed like a relief, but on results day, I faced mixed emotions and was presented with a path that differed from what I had idealised all summer. Despite this, I started my civil engineering degree at Surrey with a positive mindset and determination to make the most of the opportunity. I made it a priority to ask questions during seminars, attend lecturers’ office hours, and seek clarification whenever needed. This proactive approach has been essential throughout my degree, as civil engineering is a challenging course, and I couldn’t always rely on others to ask the questions I needed.
Could you tell us more about your placement year, the responsibilities you took on, and how it shaped your interests in Civil Engineering?
The University of Surrey offers a scholarship scheme that is partnered with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). This scholarship aims to help connect students with a civil engineering company for the duration of their degree. The student receives paid summer internships, year placement, and a yearly supportive grant. While some people in my year had applied for the scholarship before starting university, I however applied for the scholarship during my first year. Naturally, there was an application form and multiple interviews I had to undertake before being matched with a company. My only prior engineering work experience was a week of shadowing at TFL, organised through RMS’s careers advisor, Ms. Isherwood. Despite its brevity, this experience provided valuable insights and interview material alongside situation-based questions centred on my academics. Ultimately, I was awarded the scholarship and matched with a contracting engineering firm.
When I started my first summer placement in Welwyn Garden City in 2021, I had little understanding of contracting versus consulting. However, I approached the role with an open mind and enthusiasm to learn. Over the eight weeks, I gained valuable insights and growing confidence, which prepared me for the challenges of the second year of my course.
When I was informed that I needed to move to Gloucestershire for my placement during my second year, I was nervous as, at the time, I hadn’t heard of the county, nor did I know where it was. In addition to needing to move 100 miles from home, I was succumbing to a yearlong nerve injury. I also could not drive, which was a necessity and an integral part of a highway engineering and maintenance company. Despite these challenges, I remained determined to embrace the opportunity positively.
I joined the Capital Works team, which focuses more on schemes with a more significant monetary value and or technicality than the routine side of the business. At the beginning of my placement, my responsibilities focused primarily on chairing client meetings, helping other team members ensure they were working to their expected KPIs through management of the team program spreadsheet and understanding the commercial elements of engineering.
A few months into the placement, I had recovered from my nerve injury and so passed my driving test. This catapulted me to various engineering and project management responsibilities outside of the office. I began delivering minor one-off schemes and performing site inductions. This was quite nerve-racking as It was not something I had done before, and pushed me out of my comfort zone but helped me grow significantly.
As I progressed, my responsibilities were promoted to footway supervisor due to team restructuring. This meant that I was now an integral part of the team and therefore responsible for the planning, programming and delivery of all the footways and pedestrianised areas requested by the Gloucestershire County Council clients on their 22/23 task order. This meant building a good relationship and rapport with the client and subcontractors as i was responsible for the final payment and value claim made to each and worked with the regularly. The scheme sizes ranged from 1-week to 12-week projects. By the end of my placement, I can proudly say I saw the successful delivery of over 35+ schemes amounting to £ 1.12 million worth of client value.
As I continued to progress through my placement year, I thoroughly enjoyed and thrived off the busyness of my work and saw balancing the delivery of multiple schemes with various subcontractors as a positive challenge. As my placement progressed into the summer months, my Line manager presented me the opportunity to work to take on a people management role within the routine maintenance Team. This involved managing a six-person team, ensuring they met delivery targets, addressing personal and operational issues, and providing solutions to challenges. Balancing these responsibilities taught me the importance of effective communication, time management, and adaptability are skills that are invaluable in the working world.
This placement year was transformative, giving me opportunities to lead, manage projects, and develop technical expertise. It also shaped my future ambitions, particularly in bridge design and retaining walls. Inspired by site visits to large structures and bridge projects, I wrote my 16,000 word dissertation on “A Quantitative Appraisal of Climate Change Induced Temperature On Orthotropic Steel Cable Bridges,” for which I received a first-class grade. I’m now taking a steel composite bridge design module to build on this interest and tie it to my prior experience with footway projects. My placement year also allowed me to make many strong and reliable industry connections and life-long friendships. Furthermore, I can confidently tell you that Gloucestershire is ~100 miles from RMS, situated above Bristol, east of Wales and commonly called the Cotswolds.
Could you share your experience as a South East Regional Winner and National Finalist at the Women in Property Student Awards?
On returning from placement and being required to present our lessons learnt and skills achieved throughout the year, my lecturer nominated me as a suitable candidate for the Women in Property award. At the South East regional interviews, I shared my placement experiences and thoughts on improving the built environment, which led to me winning the regional award and being invited to attend the national awards. The national award consisted of an interview at Savills London headquarters, with questions primarily based on the built environment and how it can be improved, followed by a fine dining evening ceremony at Claridge’s, which was a fantastic experience.
While I did not win the national award, the opportunity was excellent as I was able to meet many different women all within the built environment industry ( from urban planners to engineers, to architects and interior designers) and see how civil engineers can fit into a wide range of businesses and career opportunities that I had never initially considered or realised was a possibility.
Congratulations to Faith on her outstanding achievements in the civil engineering world, and thank you for sharing your inspiring journey with us!
Are you an alumna of RMS for Girls?
We would love to keep in touch with future events and opportunities to motivate the next generation of pupils.
Please fill in your details here to stay connected, we can’t wait to hear more about your journey since leaving RMS.