It\u2019s a rigorous routine that many elite athletes face, but for Kassia Ralston \u2013 a former member of the Australian Junior and Senior Women\u2019s Water Polo Team \u2013 it was in addition to 15\u201320 contact hours per week required by her civil and construction engineering degree<\/a>, not to mention the many hours she spent studying.<\/p>\n \u201cI trained up to three times a day. We were required to perform regular fitness testing that included gym testing for one-rep maximum weights and pool-based testing such as jump tests, aerobic swim sets, timed medicine ball holds and beep tests,\u201d Ralston says.<\/p>\n Since she turned 16, Ralston has donned the green and gold bathers on many occasions at both junior and senior level.<\/p>\n Some of her highlights include playing for the Australian Junior Women\u2019s Team in the 2012 FINA World Youth Water Polo Championships in Perth, the Australian B\u201994 Youth Girls Team in the 2012 Olympic Hopefuls Tournament in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros, Hungary, and the Australian Senior Women\u2019s Team in the 2014 Open Australian Women\u2019s Water Polo Japan Tour.<\/p>\n Ralston also continued to play in the National Water Polo League as a member of the Fremantle Marlins for Melville Water Polo Club, which involved regular interstate travel and dedicated time to attend physiotherapy, rehabilitation and athletic education sessions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like I was living a double life,\u201d Ralston admits. \u201cOne time I had to travel to Tokyo for a two-week training camp while I was preparing for six engineering exams.\u201d<\/p>\n Curtin\u2019s Elite Athlete Program<\/a> was critical in supporting her international and national endeavours by granting her assignment extensions, alternative examination arrangements and other flexible study options<\/a> to ensure she could also pursue academic study.<\/p>\n \u201cI am grateful for the support I received from the Elite Athlete Program and my lecturers. Curtin University\u2019s civil and construction engineering course has a fantastic reputation<\/a> in industry for offering students a balanced mix of engineering foundations, practical experience and most importantly engineering communication skills,\u201d Ralston says.<\/p>\n \u201cOn graduation, I achieved a distinction average with upper second class honours and multiple graduate position offers from leading engineering companies, but the most special outcome of my education was that I was privileged to represent Australia in water polo at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n While Ralston no longer plays water polo at an international level \u2013 though still at club level \u2013 the perseverance and focus she developed has translated over into her engineering career.<\/p>\n From 2016 to 2017, while still a student, Ralston became the Chairperson of the WA branch of Young Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) and was a Young Representative on the IPWEA WA Executive Committee.<\/p>\n After graduating, she moved to Sydney, where she worked as a transport engineer for international civil engineering firm, AECOM, and became a member of the Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management NSW Young Professional Network. She worked on numerous exciting planning projects, including strategic modelling for the new, automated rapid transit system Sydney Metro project.<\/p>\n Now, the 24-year-old has returned to Perth, where she has begun working as a transport consultant for international engineering, design and project management firm, Arup, and also joined the Young Engineers Australia WA Committee.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe there are so many complementary crossovers between performing as an elite athlete and [working] as a consultant engineer. For instance, both athletes and engineers work in teams towards a common goal,\u201d Ralston explains.<\/p>\n \u201cAthletes are also accustomed to putting months of preparation into teaming, strategy and execution. As part of the Australian water polo teams and squads, I was trained to maximise diverse skills and perspectives to execute and win \u2013 this is crucial to the success of engineering teams.\u201d<\/p>\n With Ralston\u2019s new office located in the Exchange Tower, boasting panoramic views over Elizabeth Quay and the Swan River, she can well and truly say that the hard work and sacrifice has paid off \u2013 for both sides of her double life.<\/p>\n \u201cTo all the female engineering students \u2026 please stick with engineering and see the course to the end: you are on a path towards a fantastic career. Set yourself up for success early by seeking out every opportunity to develop your career, such as applying for internships, networking with your student peers and keeping up-to-date with engineering industry news.<\/p>\n \u201cI also think you should take the initiative to develop holistically while at university by getting involved in sports teams, industry events, clubs, committees and volunteering.\u201d<\/p>\n This story is part of Curtin\u2019s Young Alumni Stories<\/a> series where we celebrate the achievements of Curtin graduates 35 and under. Learn more about the Young Alumni Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At just 24, engineering graduate Kassia Ralston has already worked on Australia\u2019s biggest public transport project and played water polo internationally. What\u2019s the key to her success?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":6646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-6645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"Graduate snapshot","content":" Name: Kassia Ralston<\/p>\n![\"Kassia](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Water-Polo-AUS-photo-.jpg\")
Perseverance and focus the key<\/h2>\n
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