Finding hidden value unlocks sustainable career
In his career transforming waste into renewable energy, engineer Billy Weston is driven by a simple idea: sometimes the most valuable things are the ones people overlook.
It doesn’t just apply to his work in decarbonisation and resource recovery at South East Water in Melbourne.
First the CQUniversity Bundaberg alumnus had to realise it about himself.
“I was pretty directionless after school, and I’d taken a gap year that turned into a few years just working casual jobs,” Billy explained.
“Then in 2018, a mate told me he was starting a pathway program at CQU, and it felt like the right place to start.”
CQUniversity’s Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies (STEPS) program is a free course that gives successful graduates a direct pathway into their degree.
"Everything I have now started with STEPS," he said. "I wouldn't be an engineer, I probably wouldn't be living in Melbourne, and I wouldn't have found my passion for sustainability.”
Skills, inspiration add up
Attending STEPS classes at CQU Bundaberg, Billy found new confidence in his abilities.
He particularly credits former STEPS Maths Lecturer Jinx Atherton for tapping into his passion for problem-solving.
"She had a way of making maths feel more like a puzzle than a wall! And somewhere along the way I realised I actually liked it, and I was actually good at it."
That confidence led him into a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) at CQUniversity in 2019, where he found another influential mentor.
Now Head of College (Engineering and Aviation), Associate Professor Taylor supported Billy to run Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) workshops for local secondary schools, and to co-author and publish research on STEM interest in regional high school students.
The project had support from the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) STEM Research Experience Scholarship, and was presented at the 30th Australasian Engineering Conference in Brisbane.
“Being able to contribute to conference discussions ignited my enthusiasm to contribute to a more sustainable and forward-thinking engineering future,” Billy said.
“Right across the degree, the projects we worked on were tackling real-world challenges. Realising how important sustainability is to all the challenges we face, that really clicked for me," he said.
"It gave all the maths and science a purpose, and I knew I'd found my thing."
Resilience matters
Studying through the COVID-19 pandemic, Billy faced burnout and had to repeat a failed unit – but the resilience skills developed through STEPS helped him persevere.
"They teach you that it's okay to struggle and it's okay to fail sometimes… the important thing is that you keep going," he said.
Now a graduate engineer at South East Water, and completing a Master of Engineering (Sustainable Energy) at RMIT University, Billy hopes his journey encourages others who might not know their next step.
"You don't need to have everything figured out on day one," he said.
"Life can take you places you never expected if you're willing to give things a go, apply yourself and be kind to yourself along the way."
CQUniversity's STEPS program celebrates 40 years in 2026, marking four decades of helping people from diverse backgrounds build the skills, confidence and foundations needed to pursue higher education and achieve their goals.
Billy says his STEPS experience has been life-changing, and it helps shape his commitment to designing unexpected engineering solutions.
"In a way, that's what STEPS did for me – it found value in something that might have been overlooked. That's always stuck with me," he said.
Explore your pathway into university with CQU's STEPS program.
