![Orange Christian School graduate Kevin Win is excited for what the future brings. Picture by Jude Keogh. Orange Christian School graduate Kevin Win is excited for what the future brings. Picture by Jude Keogh.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/12977e91-021c-4765-ba72-089cf43903bb.JPG/r0_422_8256_5082_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Kevin Win's list of accomplishments range from dux of Orange Christian School, to a masters degree in civil engineering. But it's his most recent work which is set to impact millions of people across NSW.
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Having grown up in Myanmar, Mr Win's family moved to town in 2012. From there, he has gone from strength to strength, with a love of engineering always top of mind.
"I finished high school and you have to give nine course preferences for university. I chose eight engineering courses, because there's only eight civil engineering courses in Australia," he said.
"I put social science, something random, as the ninth option, so if nothing worked out, that was my last choice."
Mr Win would initially study at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst for a year-and-a-half, before stints in Newcastle and Sydney.
"There's been a fair bit of travelling," he added.
Upon obtaining his masters degree, Mr Win was on the hunt for a job back near his family in Orange.
That led him to his current role, as a project engineer working with Transport for NSW on the Newell Highway development which is set to provide an additional 40 overtaking lanes and safety upgrades.
"I looked at it and thought it was a major project that I can work on and I could probably utilise some of the skills that I have gained from uni, so I put my hat in the ring," he said.
"People always told me that I was good at maths and good at physics, so I'd be a good engineer, but when I started doing the job I realised it's a lot more than that."
![Kevin Win on site working. Kevin Win on site working.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/b257bb56-2e2b-46ad-b7aa-1ca25406c2ec.jpg/r0_101_1080_708_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He said there was a simple way to describe the difference between working in a government job, like Mr Win does, and operating within a private workspace.
"In a private organisation you're looking at ways to gain money where as a government, you're looking at ways to spend money," he said.
"If you're in a private company, it's more technical day-to-day jobs. You'd design bridges or roads and draw plans.
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"But with more government-based roles like here, it's more soft-skill focused. Project managing, budgeting, quality assurance and making sure everything is working is largely what my job is about."
Mr Win's decision to utilise his engineering degree in the Central West is no fluke either.
Of the 20 CSU graduates from 2021 and 2022, 17 are employed in regional areas and of those, 11 are working in Bathurst (seven) and Orange (four).
Graduate Aaron Hollier, who is now employed with Western Project Services in Bathurst, said his work experience placements as a cadet engineer allowed him to work across regional NSW in both geotechnical and project delivery roles.
"There is so much work currently going on across the regions, where jobs spanning different sectors are highly interconnected, which results in exposure to many facets of the engineering and construction discipline," he said.
"For example, as a project engineer on a state highway upgrade, I work closely with local government, environmental groups, utility and service providers and community groups."