Is mixing the intellectual world of engineering and the physical world of sport, some kind of Venn diagram gone wrong?
Professionals in both need to combine strategy, foresight and expertise with skill and instinct. If you mix all these qualities into one person, do you get a super-human engineer?
Our guests on the show today share how sport and teamwork helped them excel at engineering. They are engineer and former Mayo GAA star Tom Parsons, and athletic legend Jenna Bromell who is currently a Senior Process Engineer with J&J Vision Care.
TOPICS WE DISCUSSED INCLUDE
02:09 Tom’s & Jenna’s engineering backgrounds
09:09 Tom and GAA at All Ireland level
12:37 Jenna running for Ireland
13:58 How engineering and sport are similar
15:28 How their own engineering careers were helped by sport
20:10 Focus on performance not just for sport
22:45 How to think better at work
24:10 How to kill work stress
27:15 Commonality between sport and work teams
32:16 Where they get time to do so much
34:40 Getting through tough times at work
36:41 The impact of AI and tech on engineering
GUEST DETAILS
Jenna Bromell works as a senior process engineer for Johnson & Johnson Vision. During her time at UL, Jenna was a dual student-athlete, a recipient of a UL BEO sports scholarship and was awarded the UL President’s Special Distinction Award for finishing top in engineering in 2019. She has competed for Ireland at the European Junior championships, World Junior championships, European U23 championships, European Team championships and European senior championships. Jenna is currently a committee member of the Engineers Ireland Thomond Region.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-bromell-819833192/
Tom Parsons was an engineer with Jacobs, a fortune 500 professional and technical solutions company while also playing at All Ireland Level for Mayo GAA. Outside of Croke Park finals, a career highlight for him was being awarded an honorary Fellow with Engineers Ireland in 2021. Today he serves as CEO of Gaelic Players Association.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-parsons-540/
https://www.gaelicplayers.com/about-us/
MORE INFORMATION
Looking for ways to explore or advance a career in the field of engineering? Visit Engineers Ireland to learn more about the many programs and resources on offer.
https://www.engineersireland.ie/
QUOTES
“Don't underestimate the power of 10 minutes. If you want to exercise for 10 minutes, you can get a valuable session in whether it's in front of your television or out in the garden.”
“The great thing about having sports outside of your work life, is that you are not solely defined by one thing. If work is going great, then I'm an engineer. If not, then I’m a runner! You always have something to be positive about.”
“Businesses are learning from high-performance sport and high-performance teams around the world. They're all incorporating those skill sets into the workplace.