In honor of Women In Construction week, I thought I’d get a little personal and tell you how I ended up in this wonderful industry. Maybe this can inspire someone else to listen to their heart…
I was raised going to church on Sunday mornings, and eventually as a youth, on Sunday and Wednesday evenings as well. I made some of the best friends in my youth group and I owe so much to the amazing leaders who served around us. My home church in Katy, Texas sent youth every summer to a mission-based camp in Tennessee called Mountain T.O.P. There we would spend the week serving community members by completing home repair projects like yardwork, painting, and building wheelchair ramps. I learned how to measure twice-cut once, tar a roof, and use power tools. I loved every minute of it. Except getting paint it my eye one time.
When I was in high school and college, I had several opportunities to go to Reynosa, Mexico for mission projects as well. We spent an entire week building bunk beds for kids in the area who were sleeping on dirt floors. Another year we framed a one-room church for a community. These experiences changed my life in many ways.
I loved the act of building things to improve people’s lives. I loved the hard work too. So that is when I decided that I wanted at career in construction – do what you love right?!
Today, we don’t see enough women in the construction industry, although it is wonderful to watch the numbers grow (even if it is slow). My hope is that whoever and wherever you are, you find what you enjoy, and you make it part of your life. And don’t let anything hold you back.
© Kendall Pouland 2022
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