With applications now open for ADM 30 Under 30 2025 Awards, journalist Kirra Davey spoke to previous winner, Nastassja Regan, about her experience with the awards.
ADM: What is your background in the defence industry and what have you achieved in your time in industry?
Regan: I started in the defence industry, straight out of university as a graduate of mechanical engineering. At the time, I was working with Thales on the Armidale-Class Patrol Boats, and I did quite a few engineering designs on those including the austere accommodation upgrade from bunks to storage, a working at heights assessment and a toxic gas detectors obsolescence upgrade.
At the end of my graduate program, still with Thales, I moved to working as a production engineer for the Armidale-Class where I supported many 60-monthly maintenance periods, including fixing a cracking of the stabiliser fin housing. And just general production support like tolerance calculations, repair plans, etc.
When the Armidale-Class were being decommissioned, I moved to BAE, and I worked on the Hydrographic Vessels for about a year and a half. I did two quite significant safety changes on those.
One was the unleaded petrol stowage and for the light utility boats. The other one was the oily water separator upgrade, which was the main driving force behind my application to the ADM 30 under 30 Awards, because it decreased a very high risk on those boats and allowed us to recertify them with Lloyds Register.
ADM: What have you done in the industry since you won the ADM 30 Under 30 Awards?
Regan: About a year before I applied for the awards, the hydro contract was ending, so I moved to the Hunter-Class Vessels as an auxiliary engineer. My role title then was Senior Mechanical Engineer and I was system lead on the Ballast and Sea Water Machinery Cooling systems.
Only a few weeks after, I received the award for ADM 30 Under 30, which was earlier this year, I was successful in my application to become a lead mechanical engineer in auxiliary systems on Hunter. Since then, I've been managing a team of four people who are looking after cooling water and compressed air systems for the Hunter-Class Vessels.
ADM: How did you feel when you won the award?
Regan: It was very good to win that award. Felt really great. But it was almost as good just to be asked by my company to nominate for the award. I didn't even know it existed until someone in my company messaged me and said, “Can you please nominate for this award? I think you will be a good candidate.”
I was like, okay, I guess. That's how I found out about it. It felt really good to be recognised like that, especially after past experiences. Being a young female engineer in the industry can be tough, and so this time I was actually recognised and awarded rather than being overlooked, which was really great.
ADM: What would you say to people who are wanting to enter in, or nominate someone they know into, the awards?
Regan: Something I really liked about the ADM 30 Under 30 Awards is that it is awarding 30 people, and it also has the shortlist as well, which is even more. A lot of awards normally only award one person, and maybe one or two highly commended people. There's hundreds of nominations, and people just don't get recognised.
It's really great that these awards actually recognise more people and give people the opportunity to see that there is an amazing group of people out there, not just a single person.
I definitely recommend applying for the award and also, if you're thinking about nominating someone else as well, that it is worth nominating people, because, like I said, it felt really good just to be asked to nominate, almost as good as actually winning the award.
For someone looking to nominate themselves, the worst that happens is you don't win. It's not a complicated application process.
Even telling someone you've nominated them for an award is really recognising what they've done and giving them the feeling that they are achieving more than what they should be achieving.
Nominations are now open for ADM 30 Under 30 2025. Nominate here!
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