And it did. She ended up working with Tom Cruise and Benedict Cumberbatch. She got to travel and helped to build towering sets, including a life-sized submarine designed to rise up on its side (they don’t call it Mission Impossible for nothing). Laura discovered the special-effects department and put her skills to good use at different studios, from Paramount to Netflix and from Marvel to Disney.
But when, earlier this year, she took her seat on the stage where actors receive Bafta awards, Laura wasn’t there to talk films. She was there to talk engineering. A career she’d found while making movies.
Inspiring others, one frame at a time
The event at the Bafta venue was hosted by SheCanEngineer, a charity that promotes women in engineering. It’s a cause that Laura, a 24-year-old apprentice at an international engineering consultancy business, is passionate about. She’s just started a year-long stint as the chair of Women’s Engineering Society’s Apprentice Board. Laura speaks at charity events and documents her own engineering adventures on YouTube and TikTok – hoping to inspire young women.
“When I was growing, I wish I could have seen someone who looks like me welding or working in a workshop,” she explains. “But all I saw was three men on Top Gear.”
Discovering her superpower
The message she wanted to share most from that Bafta stage was that careers don’t have to be linear. They can be “squiggly”.
“You can dream about what you’d like to happen,” she explains. “And it probably will. But not necessarily in the way you planned it.”
Laura’s first life squiggle came when she was just four. Growing up in Guildford, Surrey, she was a bright, creative child. She could pick up new skills quickly, whether she was playing guitar or painting hyper-realistic portraits. But at school she was struggling to keep up. Tests revealed she was dyslexic. And, while they brought some relief and a plan to tackle the learning difficulty, they also shook Laura’s confidence.
“My parents told me it was a superpower, not a disability,” she says. “They drilled into me the idea that I could do anything I put my mind to. That nothing is impossible.”
Take two: from movies to engineering
With some extra lessons and extra hours, Laura finished school with distinctions. She’d settled on the film industry but knew no one who could open a door for her. So she started to email and call companies, looking for a way in. There were a lot of rejections. Many just ignored her. She was young and had no experience. Finally, Laura decided to try a new approach: to be at the right place at the right time.
Her breakthrough came at an expo in London – the one she was catching a train to. She met someone who got her a gig as a stand-in on a movie set. Set design led to prop building, prop building led to special effects, and special effects led to an explosion of interest in engineering. She saw how ideas went from being designed on a computer to being welded together in workshops.
“The more I learnt, the more I fell in love with it,” she remembers.
Laura changed direction. A little over two years ago, she applied for and landed an engineering apprenticeship. She’s loved the chance to explore powertrain systems development from all angles. She’s spent time in departments building engines, researching hydrogen fuel cells and testing emissions.
“It’s really interesting how the brain adapts to things,” she says, referring to living with dyslexia. “I’ve learnt how my brain works and how to cope with different scenarios. I encourage others to make people aware of how they learn and think.”
Embrace your creativity
Laura’s been using her “superpower” in all kinds of ways. Having never touched a spanner, she decided to restore a 1983 Super Dream Honda motorcycle, which had spent more than a decade rusting in a barn. Learning along the way, she stripped the bike back to its frame and rebuilt it. While she was at it, she decided to learn how to ride motorcycles.
More recently, Laura found a workshop, bought welding machines and is now restoring an old classic Mini car. You can watch her progress on YouTube. She also does photography, paints, enjoys the gym and hikes with her friends.
When she speaks to young engineers, she tells them not to be daunted.
“Don’t be intimidated by your differences,” she says. “When I started I was nervous there would be no one like me in engineering and no one would believe I could do it. It’s a good thing to be creative in this field. That’s where the ideas come from.”
To nominate an IMechE member making a difference, email profeng@thinkpublishing.co.uk.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.