Tom Mackay, a UWA Bachelor of Commerce student majoring in Finance and Economics, recently completed an internship through the McCusker Centre for Citizenship with the Road Safety Commission (the Commission).
Tom’s internship supported the Commission’s Education and Evaluation team.
“I helped gather evaluation questions for short, medium and long-term feedback on the RoadSmart KickStart project which is delivered in regional schools and primarily directed at Year 7 and 8 students,” Tom said.
“Basing the evaluation on behavioural change theory, I created a presentation for my team, and then went to Kulin and Narembeen to help deliver the project and gather results from the students. Using these results, I created a report illustrating how the evaluation is likely to make the students answer questions more honestly, allowing for deeper engagement and more extensive feedback to be gathered.”
Simone Steele is Director, Education and Behaviour Change at the Commission and said that Tom had impressed the team with his professionalism and engagement with the work.
“Tom was a great addition to our team. He added a lot of value to our RoadSmart KickStart project and showcased his strong work ethic and commitment to outcomes. It was a pleasure to have him at the Commission and I know he has very bright future ahead,” Ms Steele said.
Hailing from Geraldton, Tom found the opportunity to be directly involved with regional communities reinforced the value of his internship experience.
“Regional road users account for a higher proportion of fatal road crashes, and what I have helped deliver in the RoadSmart KickStart project has helped target this demographic, especially future road users. Seeing the overall feedback post-trial from the students has been extremely rewarding, as many of the kids have taken away key messages the team hoped they would,” he said.