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Melanie Worobetz (DCS'07, BEng'24)聽was well established in retail management before she started seriously considering an engineering career.

She had completed a costume studies diploma at Dal in 2007 and was working in fashion design and retail management in Toronto when she began imagining a different future for herself. Engineering may not have seemed like a natural next step, but she discovered many of her skills carried over to this new academic venture.

Engineering problem-solving is similar to creative and artistic design.聽鈥斅燤elanie Worobetz

鈥淭he two disciplines share more transferrable skills than I originally expected, such as science, math, research and presenting.鈥�

Worobetz was offered an Irving Oil scholarship when she applied to Dal Engineering, which came with the opportunity to do her co-op placement at its Saint John, N.B., headquarters. She says she was eager for the opportunity to work for such a respected company, which has been named a Canada Top 100 Employer for nine consecutive years. Additionally, Irving Oil鈥檚 Saint John refinery is Canada鈥檚 largest and is pivotal in providing energy security to Atlantic Canada and the U.S. Northeast.

During her co-op term, she was part of the Irving Oil refinery's reliability engineering team. It investigates ways to make the refinery more reliable, with reduced downtime. One of her projects was reassessing lubrication systems, with her co-op report including recommendations around reducing lubricant contamination.

Highlights

Worobetz stayed with Irving Oil after graduating as part of the company鈥檚 new Graduate Rotational Program. She鈥檒l cycle through three roles over three years, receiving broad exposure to engineering roles.

鈥淓ngineering school is challenging. The work, once I was on my co-op, came more easily to me,鈥� she says.

She鈥檚 already completed her first rotation with the Engineering Services team which performs engineering design work at Irving Oil. Currently, she鈥檚 working in machinery analysis which involves in-depth evaluation of industrial machinery to determine its performance and any potential risks.聽

鈥淲hat prepared me was the technical learning we did in school and seeing how it translates to practical applications.鈥澛�

Why I do it

Worobetz, who鈥檚 from Leamington, Ont., is now happily settled in Saint John. She enjoys the vibrant uptown on the Bay of Fundy and the city鈥檚 easy access to nature.聽

鈥淚 like to explore local beaches and go on hikes,鈥� she says.聽

Going forward, Worobetz can picture herself staying on with Irving Oil as new opportunities within the company present themselves. The company has operations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

鈥淏eing in a rotational program now keeps me open to wherever the journey takes me鈥� career paths can be winding rather than straight. There鈥檚 always something new.鈥�