Paige Herbst

8.00 AM

My day starts with a bike ride into the office overlooking Auckland. I live only 15 minutes from the office, and my commute sets me up for the day.

8.15 AM 

I say hello to my team and pick a desk, and we head down to the café in our lobby for a coffee and a chat. I get an oat flat white and an Arup coffee discount, served by our lovely barista Sam.

8.30AM

I check my to-do list and do any urgent things. I also go through my emails and instant messages.

Then I start work on writing an economic master planning report. Working with our finance and economics team, I combine my planning and design skills with their knowledge to help grow employment and investment in regional Auckland.

11.00 AM 

My team and I then meet with our client to discuss the report's progress. We get great feedback on our progress, and the client is really happy.

12.30 PM 

Time for lunch! A visitor from our London office gave a lunchtime talk on hyperloops – and we got free pizza.

1.30 PM 

More coffee! After lunch, I head down to our café with some colleagues to catch up.

2.00 PM

I meet up with a new starter in the team on their first piece of work at Arup, a landscape architect who is providing graphic support on the report.

3.00 PM

Time for a biscuit break!  Every day there is a new biscuit treat to enjoy and help get through the afternoon slump.

3.30 PM

I catch up with my team for a whiteboarding session for a project workshop – it’s a fun way to brainstorm.

4.30 PM 

This afternoon is our end-of-financial year office party! I lead our social club and have organised an amazing race challenge and networking drinks to celebrate a great year.   

6.00 PM

I head home to pack my bags for a trip to our Sydney office. I will be spending a week there to explore the city and meet up with friends and colleagues. I am excited to have my first ever face-to-face meeting with my mentor I gained through our mentorloop programme.