A Day in the Life
Written by: Adriana Salinas Diaz
This past week Adriana Salinas Diaz, EI, took over the MDG Instagram to give a glimpse at what it looks like behind the scenes in our Jacksonville office!
See her takeover in our “Takeover” highlight here.
Adriana works in our Transportation department under Chris Buttermore, PE, Transportation Lead. She has worked on projects like Veterans Parkway, Olympus, Mill Creek Academy, and Beachside High School. She is a first-generation graduate and one of the amazing women working at MDG.
On this International Women’s Day, here’s a glance at the life of a female engineer:
I start every day with a cup of tea, followed by a quick drive to the office. Once at the office, I check my emails, check in with my Project Manager, and start wrapping up tasks from the previous workday. Each day is different depending on what project I am working on. Engineers at MDG get to work under project managers to assist with plan preparing, site visits, stormwater design/calculations and anything else engineering related. Since I work on the Transportation team, I help my team with offsite designs, prepping and delivering submittals, and client coordination.
I am currently an Engineer Intern (EI) working towards become a Professional Engineer (PE). I am currently one of three women at MDG working towards becoming a PE. As one of the few, I always bring my A-game to work. I joined the MDG team over a year ago and was surprised to learn that MDG’s CEO is a woman. It showed me that if I work hard enough, I can be where she is standing one day. She is an inspiration.
Sometimes I think it’s funny when the company has EI meetings, and I am the only female there. Thankfully, no one makes me feel out of place and my input is always heard. Working for a smaller engineering firm allows that to happen. All my life, only men were the bread winners of their homes, but times are changing. My husband has supported me since I first mentioned I wanted to become an engineer – he loves to make jokes about how he will become a stay-at-home dad while I bring in the money.
When I was in college, about half the program was female. It gave me so much motivation seeing other women pursue the same career path as me. Adding more women to a field dominated by men feels good and it gives us the chance to inspire young girls to pursue their dreams.
MDG values diversity! There are three women in leadership positions: Keri Matthews, CEO, Shannon Acevedo, AICP, Senior Planner, and Karen Darling, Controller. Among the eight Project Engineers on staff, three of them are women (and that number continues to grow). We also have two female CAD Designers, and our Administrative and Marketing staff are comprised of women.
Interested in joining our team?