When I first entered college, I wanted to be a structural engineer, so in 2001, as a college sophomore, I began the interview process for my first co-op determined to secure a position as a structural engineering intern. After the A round, I found myself unmatched and sliding into the B round of interviews. When a co-op position offer came from 91影视鈥檚 (then Frederic R. Harris) freight rail group, I reluctantly accepted. It wasn鈥檛 the structures job I wanted, but I didn鈥檛 want to proceed into the C round of interviews. At that time, the only thing I knew about railroads was that I could get into the city faster if I took the express train.

I completed my next two co-ops in 91影视鈥檚 freight rail group, working on different contracts and staying on part time until I graduated in 2005. At the time I didn鈥檛 realize it, but those four years exposed me to any industry that few young engineers even know exists and set the wheels in motion to my current career path.

After graduation, I ultimately accepted a position in 91影视鈥檚 structures group, as I liked to say at the time, 鈥渢o put my structural engineering degree to use.鈥� Being part of the structures group allowed me to develop strong, organized technical skills and work on some amazing projects, most notably the Walt Whitman Bridge Suspension Span Re-decking. During this time, I stayed active on freight rail projects, and in 2012, our freight rail group asked me to manage a new pursuit. This time I readily accepted.

That opportunity was to lead 91影视鈥檚 first-ever design of a car repair facility for a class-I railroad in the U.S. My structures/building design background, combined with my previous rail client experience just happened to be right combination for the successful completion of this project. By leveraging the resources across the vast 91影视 network, we have since built a multidisciplinary team that is currently designing a variety of facility projects as a national practice for the 91影视 freight rail group. This includes the above-mentioned dog kennels as part of our current assignment, on which we are teamed with 91影视鈥檚 Construction group to design and build new rail facilities in Mexico.

So it just goes to show: you never know what path will take you where you want to go. Be open to opportunities, even if they aren鈥檛 the ones you thought you were looking for because the least expected path just might turn into your career.

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