5 minute read
Alice Kitching – overcoming obstacles and achieving the dream
Dio alumna Alice Kitching (21) has just landed her dream job in London, working with cuttingedge technology as an engineer for plastics recycling firm Plastics Energy. She’ll be working with a team of fellow engineering specialists to remotely automate a production plant that converts valueless plastic waste into recycled oils. It’s an innovative way to reduce plastic pollution, and places Plastic Energy at the forefront of the move to a low-carbon circular economy for plastics.
After leaving school in 2018, Alice studied robotics and automation at Leeds Beckett University in the North of England and was widely praised for her final year project, which featured an app that allows dancers to measure their performance as they carry out their dance routines. Alice combined two of her greatest passions – robotics and dance – to develop the app and now has plans to carry it forward into real-world testing.
"I wanted to make something that's easy for everyone to use, from the youngest dancers to old age pensioners,” she says. “It had to be simple to navigate but still give good feedback on their dance performance and progress. This lets everyone measure their development without any of the negativity or pressure that you sometimes get in dance classes."
When Alice first demonstrated the app to her Leeds Beckett classmates in June this year, Robotics and Automation course leader and project supervisor Dr Mark Judge commented that often the best projects are those that students come up with themselves.
“These students are much more focused on the topic, and they already have an investment in the project,” he says. “The result is that they really want to succeed, and they have the passion to do that. Alice has done a very good job with this. I know that she hopes to develop it even further and I wish her the very best of luck for the future".
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY TO REACH HER GOALS
Alice’s stellar career path didn’t come easy, however.
Being dyslexic, Alice found schoolwork challenging and despite wanting to be an engineer from an early age, she says trying to study the often-difficult subjects required for a career in engineering sometimes felt futile. She struggled with maths and physics to start with, along with English.
But she says the support she received at Dio allowed her to dig deep, overcome her challenges and ultimately achieve her goals against all odds. “I had the most amazing help at Dio,” says Alice. “I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.”
She says Dio’s Centre for the Enhancement of Learning, then headed by Suzanne Buswell, was transformational in helping her make the most of her dyslexia instead of letting it hinder her.
She also says sheer hard work and determination helped get her through.
“Ultimately, I wouldn’t have achieved what I did if I hadn’t wanted it badly enough. I fought and persevered every step of the way and didn’t give up, despite wanting to at times.
“My perseverance was definitely what got me to where I am. No amount of help and pushing would have done anything if I hadn’t worked really hard at the same time.”
Alice says she developed her love of engineering from her father, who is currently an engineer with a reusable energy firm.
“I’ve always had an interest in how things worked, and my father really encouraged that,” she says. “He exposed me to his work and explained the sorts of things he did. I also played with a lot of Meccano as a kid!”
Alice has been a keen dancer since she was five years old, and went on to develop a real interest, dancing with Auckland ballet studio SABA.
Read more about Alice's final-year project in the blog 'I bet you look robotic on the dance floor' at www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk
“It’s such a great way to express yourself and an amazing way to decompress,” she says. “I love having this amazing art form alongside my very technical life.”
SCHOOL FOSTERED A FEELING OF SELF-BELIEF
Alice credits Rob Boasman, Dio’s teacher-in-charge of physics, for being one of her greatest champions.
“He told me that unless I knuckled down, my dream of being an engineer would be difficult to achieve,” she says.
His advice stuck with Alice, as did his dedication, as he fielded question after question from her in their after-school tutorial sessions.
“His unwavering faith in me not only helped me academically, but also helped me to believe in myself. support behind me. I can’t thank him enough.”
Mr Boasman added, “I still clearly remember the moment Alice arrived in my class after having been told that she should give up on her dream of engineering in the future. I pointed out that she was the only person in control of her future, but the choice she had to make was whether she was willing to put in the effort and strive for her dream.
“Alice resolved to study hard and rewrite the future, and over the next weeks and months she transformed her understanding and success outcomes. She demonstrated incredible resilience and self-determination, which changed her life.
“Alice is the very essence of a growth mindset, and I am incredibly proud of all that she has achieved,” he says.
Other staff were on hand to help Alice manage her workload when it became overwhelming and taught her to have faith in her abilities. They also helped her explore possible options for overseas study, which led to her securing a place at Leeds Beckett University to study a three-year engineering degree.
AN EXCITING ROAD AHEAD
Dio’s Career Development Director, Grace Birdsall, says, “So often, students get the message that to get anywhere in life, they have to do well at school.
“What they don’t often get told is that performance at school is not necessarily an indicator of future success. Having a growth mindset and persevering to pursue a dream is far more important, and Alice is certainly a wonderful example of where a positive attitude and finding the right fit can lead.”
Alice has just moved to London to start her new role, and she says she’s very excited to be involved with an innovative solution to plastic pollution, as well as playing her part in helping save the planet.
“I've always wanted to be a part of something that would change the world for the better and being able to do that is a dream come true.
“My time at Dio really helped shape me, and just goes to show that anything’s possible if you put your mind to it.”
