A COONAMBLE woman is among the nation's brightest young people and is making her mark on the international stage.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jillian Kilby, a civil engineer graduate from the University of Sydney, worked at Waterway Constructions designing walls and bridges.
After four years of the big city life in Sydney she decided move to a sheep, wheat and cotton farm, 50 kilometres from Walgett.
"There weren't any employment opportunities so I started my own company to provide people a variety of workplace experiences," she said.
At 25 years of age she established JL Kilby Pty Ltd, a project management and civil engineering company.
The company picked up several council projects from Dubbo to Bourke and private consultants and contractors.
Ms Kilby has owned the business for three years. She said it was a great experience working for herself and she has had an amazing time.
"I want to expand the company to work on a national scale in infrastructure," she said.
For her hard work and ingenuity, she was awarded a scholarship worth up to $150,000 across three years to study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) thanks to the Sir John Monash Foundation.
Ms Kilby applied at MIT to study a masters in business management specialising in Leaders for Global Operations.
"This study is about allowing me to do a better job, to improve my leadership and decision making," she said.
"It will teach me how to create greater efficiency in transport planning and infrastructure."
This rare opportunity would make her influential and respected in the industry for her new found knowledge and experience.
Ms Kilby said infrastructure strategies were not a regional problem only but a global challenge and she wanted to see how other countries approached this challenge.
"I've always dreamed of doing my Masters of Business Administration in a university overseas," she said.
"When you're out in Walgett, you don't think it will come true."
The application process was extremely challenging and only 10 people were chosen from a huge pool of applicants.
Two interviews, each with a panel of 10 judges, one at a state level and another at a national level, were part of a three month intensive process.
"It was very hard to get through," she said.
"It reinforced my decision to do higher study and it really questioned whether you wanted to go for it or not."
Ms Kilby encouraged Dubbo residents not to shy away from any great opportunities available to them, even if they were challenging.
"A lot of people are afraid of taking the next step," she said.
"Because it is hard... if it was easy everyone would have done it."
Ms Kilby said she kept a good work-life balance and took a holiday every six months.
She said a morning run kept her refreshed and revitalised for a new day.
In her spare time she volunteers in the community at the Walgett Country Women's Association (CWA), the Walgett Show Society and other organisations.
She was also the director of the Royal Agricultural Society Foundation of NSW which provided rural scholarship for students and community grants.
Ms Kilby spoke to the Daily Liberal from Boston and said she had enjoyed her time in the freezing weather.
"People here are down to earth and friendly," she said.
"I'll miss knowing everyone in the town and them knowing me.
"It's a big city here and I'm not afraid of saying G'day here."
Ms Kilby planned to watch a New England Patriots home game with a friend at the weekend.
abanob.saad@ruralpress.com