As well as having a job as a mechanical engineer, Lauren Harrell, pictured at the Hampton Downs Grand Prix last month, works for Toyota Racing NZ as an on-board camera technician.
As well as having a job as a mechanical engineer, Lauren Harrell, pictured at the Hampton Downs Grand Prix last month, works for Toyota Racing NZ as an on-board camera technician.
Today is International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. We catch up with a Northland woman who is achieving success by marrying her love of mechanical engineering with her passion for motorsport.
Northlander Lauren Harrell is living life in the fastlane, combining her passion for motorsport with a budding career in mechanical engineering.
The 23-year-old former Kerikeri High School student currently has two jobs; a full-time position at a tech start-up called EnergyBank based in Auckland, where she works as a mechanical engineer doing design and testing, and contracting work for Toyota Racing NZ.
“Engineering really drew me in because I’m a very curious person. I like to know how things work.
“I like to learn things, but I also have a creative side.
“At the time I was looking at what to study, engineering jumped out because it takes problem-solving skills and being able to have the knowledge to back the design.”
Harrell spoke to the Northern Advocate on the eve of International Women’s Day. The UN theme for this year’s event is ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’.
Harrell, the 2020 recipient of Top Energy’s Engineering Scholarship, began her studies at the University of Auckland, majoring in mechanical engineering, then added a design degree to her studies.
When she completes her degree at the end of this year, she’ll be the first student ever to graduate with a conjoined engineering and design degree.
Harrell started her internship at EnergyBank last November, with help from a Callighan Innovation student grant.
Lauren Harrell lives life in the fast lane with two jobs; one as a mechanical engineer, and the other as an on-board camera technician with Toyota Racing NZ.
She enjoys working for a start-up tech company.
“I like that my full-time job is working toward something which is making a difference, and something which is sustainable and good for the future.”
Her contracting work for Toyota Racing NZ as an on-board camera technician on weekends is the icing on the cake.
Harrell said her work at the 2023 Toyota 86 Championship, during the season from November to May, is “super-fun”.
“I love it. I love the atmosphere; I love being trackside at races and seeing behind the scenes.
“Even though I’ve been working on the 86 series, at all the rounds I’ve been to, there’s been other series going on.”
Harrell has also been involved with the university’s Formula SAE team, helping to design and construct a formula-style race car to compete in an international student engineering competition.
Her desire to excel was evident from an early age; she won an award at the Top Energy Regional Science Fair in Year 8 and achieved the top grade in the cohort for Introduction to Mechatronics in 2019.
