Sita Shah, 2008

Sita read Engineering at Clare. She is now a Construction Engineer at Mace.

Who was your greatest Clare influence and Why?

The anxiety of being away from home at an institution that I’d never considered to be within my reach was overwhelming. However the fourth year students who lived on my floor when I started as a first year, Kat, Becks and Sam were so encouraging and warm, that it made my first term much happier.

Sita's Story

Each year spent at Clare and at Cambridge got better and whilst in first year I doubted that I could fit-in, by fourth year, I was settled and felt so grateful to have had the opportunity to study Engineering here. Being the first in my family to have the chance of a university education was a gift, and I wouldn’t change any of the experiences I had at Clare.

At Clare, each person was able to be their authentic self and take their own direction with studies and extra-curricular activities. The college clubs catered for a range of interests and of course the weekend events in Clare Bar were always looked forward to. The jazz nights were my favourite, and I could never get over how beautiful the vaulted arches were beneath the Chapel. The pastoral care, porters, tutors and supervisors at Clare were down-to-earth and I knew there would always be a smiling face to greet or somebody to ask for advice as I walked through Old Court.

Completing my MEng in 2012 lead me into my first permanent employment role with Laing O’Rourke after undertaking the Constructionarium module at the end of third year where I realised I had a passion for the contracting side of construction. I originally thought I would return to a more traditional design consultant role after a few years in contracting, but I really enjoyed delivering projects, and was even able to obtain the design experience I wanted within the temporary works design team at Laing O’Rourke. I completed many roles and my graduate development programme there in 2015, the same year I was transferred abroad to Hong Kong to deliver the C901 Admiralty Station Extension project for MTRC. As a senior engineer I delivered 300m of tunnels 65m beneath the ground which have finally this year opened up successfully as part of the new Shatin-to-Central link. This project marked the end of my time with Laing O’Rourke, and in 2017 I moved back to the UK to start my new adventure with Mace as a Construction Engineer.

My projects and roles at Mace moved into technical advisory and bid work based on my combined delivery and design experiences, I was well placed to mould to the requirements of each project team. I have worked across many airport projects, as well as education projects, high-end residential, commercial offices, retail, and more recently heavy refurbishments and fit-out work. Most of my work is based in the UK, although I am often brought in to consult to teams in South America and India where my experience is deemed useful. Whilst with Mace, I completed my engineering and managerial chartership routes earning the CEng MICE as well as the CMgr MCMI suffix.

All of my life experiences, happy and sad, good and bad, have contributed to the person I am today. My parents, grandparents always taught to be kind, humble, hardworking, and to help others whenever I could. My school teachers and tutors at university taught me how to reason and how to use my skills in employment. My chosen profession has allowed me experiences in different countries, building on my empathy towards others, and led me to cross paths with my husband, who reminds me to laugh and see the positive in every situation. I would never have imagined that I’d have these opportunities when I moved to the UK as a young child, and I am thankful for it all.