Changed
Changed
Growing up in the vibrant and energetic city of Mumbai in India, Ash Raju learned a lot about space.
From humble beginnings, Ash watched her parents closely as they navigated their way through life, always working skilfully within their means, up until the moment they bought their first home.
And learning from her crafty parents unlocked something within her from a very young age.
“When I was born and in my early years, we didn't have a lot of the comforts that we would grow up to have,” she said.
“I saw my parents and their whole process of knowing what you can fit in the budget, what you could do with a space, where to spend, where not to spend.
“I watched my parents create possibility within constraints. Seeing how intentionally they used space and budget, it sparked something in me very early. It taught me that creativity isn’t about having more, it’s about seeing potential in what you already have.”
It’s no surprise that today Ash is now a Project Manager at Brisbane Airport, a part of the Terminal Infrastructure team within Development & Delivery since July 2023.
Working across a wide range of projects in both the Domestic and International Terminals – from Gate Lounge upgrades to travellator upgrades – Ash has turned that early spark into her whole career.
She first studied a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Mumbai and, upon completion, she realised that while she loved designing, what she loved more was seeing a project come to fruition.
She was drawn to the coordination aspect of a project and managing the “complex sticky process”, and so she began a Master of Construction Management at the University of Melbourne, eventually specialising in project management.
“The more complex a project or a program is, the more energised I’d feel,” she said.
“I’m drawn to work that demands curiosity, coordination and courage, the kind where you learn something new every single day.”
With this can-do attitude, Ash went from university to working as a graduate with Turner & Townsend in Melbourne before a serendipitous call from a former mentor saw her make a move she wasn’t even considering.
“A senior PM (Project Manager) at Turner & Townsend, Alejandro Monroy, took me on my first ever site visit,” she said.
“He moved on to BAC and had a couple of complex projects coming up and thought I’d be a really good fit.
“The opportunity seemed so intriguing – we were talking about expansion in the terminal space, about so much more that we could do. And one of the unique things that I loved is we were talking about sustainability at the forefront, which is unique because often companies talk about integration, but they don't actually do it.
“An opportunity to work with a company that would actually go above and beyond to be able to practice that, I think that's what attracted me. And I said, ‘I'm going to take the leap of faith’.”
Since arriving in Brisbane, Ash has continued to go from strength to strength in her career and was even awarded Emerging Leader at the Queensland National Association of Women In Construction (NAWIC) Awards in early November.
Through her role she gets to “bridge a gap between a vision and a delivered outcome”.
“It’s easy to dream but then unless you know how to build the dream, it’s really getting you nowhere, right?,” she said.
“What I love about my job is being able to rationalise the vision and actually bring it to reality. You’ve got to be able to pick up on the aspects of the vision that are important, prioritise it, and actually be able to understand what can and can’t be done within the realms of realistic opportunities.
“Reality doesn’t have to be mediocre. Constraints are simply opportunities to think smarter. Our job is to push that edge just enough to turn a good idea into something exceptional.”
And it’s not just within the scope of her day-to-day responsibilities where Ash has shone since kickstarting her career.
During her time at Turner & Townsend, Ash pioneered a groundbreaking graduate recruitment system to empower students to access opportunities, bypassing traditional gatekeepers.
With a 30 per cent increase among gender, cultural and socio-economic diversity, she has started making a difference for others and Ash said this motivation has come from her own experiences and the influences of her mentors.
Helped throughout her four-and-a-half years in the industry by the likes of her parents and uncle, her professors, colleagues, managers and many more along the way, Ash believes she wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for the opportunities she was provided by the people who “offered the right advice at the right time”.
Now she wants to do the same for the next generations.
“Construction, at its core, is about creating space for someone — for their work, their journey, their future,” she said.
“That’s what drives me. Every project is an opportunity to shape how people experience the world. I want to give back to society. I am very passionate about giving others an opportunity to have what I was given access to and creating that kind of a space where people are able to come in, seek that advice, get their foot in the door or build their confidence to be able to do what they could be good at or what they are already good at.
“I’m very aware that I’m here because people opened doors for me at the right time. If someone lends you a hand, you have a responsibility to extend that same hand to someone else. Progress only happens when we keep the cycle going.
“We’re able to empower people around us, to grow together.”
Ash said finding access herself was one of the biggest challenges throughout her career.
While she didn’t always realise it, she said being a woman in a male-dominated industry, a person of colour and, currently the youngest PM at Brisbane Airport, has come with its “complexities”.
But if anything, it’s helped her understand the importance of being your true authentic self and Ash – who is part of Brisbane Airport’s Diversity and Inclusion Council – tries to do that each and every day, with the support of the business.
“I guess the journey from wanting to prove you’re worth it to knowing you’re worth it and you need not prove it, is a long one,” she said.
“For example, I love wearing sarees but when I first started as a graduate, I don't think I ever thought that I could. A part of me felt like, ‘okay, you've got to fit in, you've got to learn. You can't do that.’
“For a long time, I struggled with the thought of blending in. It was only when I was progressing well in my career and I thought, ‘you're mentoring people, you're telling them to be themselves, you're training them to grab opportunities and yet, you're not making the space for people to be themselves.’
“I can advise somebody what to do all the time, but then if I don't do it myself, I'm not setting a picture for someone else to actually know what that world we dream of could look like.
“The change needed to start with me. And to be honest, when I first shared my inkling with my partner, Venkatesh Kishan - my most genuine and loudest supporter - he went, "What's stopping you? Do not hesitate. Be the you I know.'
“The first two times I’d get a look but after that, it becomes pure normal. Now it's like, ‘oh, that's just Ash being Ash.’ Where authenticity is modelled consistently, that normality creates space for others to show up as themselves too.”