Meet Lily: Building the future of cancer care
For Lily Ryan, being part of the team building the Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre isn’t just a job.
“My grandpa has had a long history with melanoma, so has my dad, and I’ve just had a pre-cancerous growth removed from my chest,” said 22-year-old Lily.
“This is definitely the best job I’ve worked on, because it really means something.”
As Traffic Management and Loading Bay Coordinator, Lily is responsible for coordinating all comings and goings to the site – no small undertaking when you consider there’s approximately 30 deliveries per day, with up to three of them commonly being 14,000kg semi-trailer trucks.
“My role is all about keeping things running safely and smoothly,” said Lily.
“St Kilda Road is incredibly busy, and when you combine pedestrians, motorists, cyclists, scooters and a massive construction site, you’ve got to keep your wits about you.”
Lily, who saw the delivery of over 4000 concrete trucks during various stages of the site’s concrete pour, is one of four women working on site and says the family atmosphere is what she loves most about her job.
“It’s a great job because of the people – from subcontractors to management, to what we’re building. It’s like we’re one giant team.”
Lily initially trained as a traffic management coordinator as a one year stop gap because she got tired of working in cafes and had always been drawn to construction.
“A family friend suggested I give it a go for 12 months while I worked out what I wanted to do’.”
Four years later, Lily now has her eyes set on ultimately becoming a crane operator.
“I love construction, I love the team work and I love that I get to be part of something so massive as this centre.”
Of the iconic building, set to change the future of cancer care, Lily is rightfully proud of her work.
“I can’t wait to drive past in the future and say, I helped build that.”
For more information about the Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre, click here.