It's Women in Construction Week! Promoted by The National Associate of Women in Construction, this week is a way “to highlight women as a viable component of the construction industry."
In celebration of this week we asked some of our women in construction and project management about their careers. Here's what they had to say:
Kelsie Lanz, Associate Project Manager
Why did you choose to work in construction? My family has a background in construction with my grandpa (now retired) and one of my uncles working as Laborers. My other uncle runs his own construction business building residential homes out in Seattle. Then there is my mom who is a realtor, and I grew up touring many properties with her. Basically, I have grown up surrounded by construction and have been interested in it since I was little. I chose the Civil Engineering route in school and came to learn that I enjoyed the construction side during my co-op and internship experiences.
What do you like most about your work? I like that every day is different, this is not a monotonous job – there are always new challenges to face and different systems, details and strategies to learn. I also love that I get to leave the office to visit the jobsite to be part of the action.
What is your favorite project? I really enjoyed working on
The Marke as I often bragged to friends and family that I was working on a luxury apartment building! I also very much enjoyed the
Fiat Chrysler (aka FCA) mechanical training center build out as I was the primary project manager and learned a lot from it. The client was also wonderful to work with, which made the project very enjoyable.
Check out our latest white paper to read about Kelsie's great performance on the FCA build out.
What is your advice to women considering or beginning a career in construction? I would say not to be intimidated by it! We bring a different perspective to the table. For example, on The Marke I was excited to take charge on the interior amenity space finishes as I wanted to work closely with the interior designers to help select finishes and layouts and present the options to the Ownership team. This is something the guys on my team did not find appealing, so they were happy when I was interested in running with the interior amenities.
What unique strengths do you think women bring to construction? From what I have found we bring a more productive and calm energy during meetings as the guys tend to be on better behavior with a woman present.
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