Commemorating 10 Years!

I believe most people know this, but I'm an engineer. I work in the environmental engineering field at CH2M HILL (I know it's a mouthful - but the name came from the initials of the founders back in the 1940's), and I have been working there officially 10 years! An entire decade! That's HUGE! And when I heard the statistic from our CEO that a majority of the 25,000 employees in the company have been with the company for less than 5 years, that made me feel old! But it also made me realize just how long 10 years is! So much has happened in my personal life in 10 years (dated Todd again, got married, started our family, etc), and then I think of all that has happened while working there. 

I was a very nervous girl when I started. You see, I had worked at a small environmental company in New Jersey for a year and a half right out of college. The company had me start as a project manager right out of college (the word for that is stupid). I worked with all guys (except for our adminstrative assistant), and that wasn't what bothered me. What bothered me there was the jerky attitude these men had. What bothered me was the way they talked about women, especially their own wives. The way they made fun of Ohio, when they have nothing to be all that proud about with New Jersey. I mean seriously - New Jersey is the arm pit of Amercia. I know - I worked there! I know way too much about the environmental problems in that state. But anways, I digress...I hated my job. I hated being pushed into a position I wasn't trained for, I hated working with men who couldn't care less about me, I hated the egotistical attitude they all seemed to have, I hated that they had such low standards for safety (seriously, their safety message to me when I was told to go into the worst part of Newark, NJ was: "If you hear gunshots, DUCK!" So stupid!

I cried most days I went into work. I was quite unhappy there. I only worked on one engineering project the entire time I was there, and there wasn't too much engineering involved in it. The only thing I liked about living there was my church. I had good friends there.

But - then the day came when I was fired. They blatantly treated me differently and fired me because of it. My boss at the time told me that I would never make it in an engineering firm when I left. And instead of taking those words and letting those words destroy me, I really felt fired up! NO ONE tells me I can't do something. I hated that he was trying to demoralize me. But you know what - I listened to God. I knew that he was wrong for saying that. I knew God was doing something, but I wasn't sure what. So I spent 3 months finding a job. And then I found CH2M HILL back in Ohio.

I remember when I was really young, I always thought it would be cool to work in a downtown environment and work in a building that has revolving doors. Ha ha! Well my building is downtown Dayton and they have revolving doors! Funny isn't it?!

 

This company had a pretty good mix of women and men, and it would actually involve engineering! I started with a little hesitancy because I wasn't sure if I would survive. But every year I was there, I learned more, I developed more as a person and engineer, and I became a stronger person. I also eventually became a leader in the Dayton office for junior staff and I co-started a program called JuMP for the entire CH2M HILL environmental business group. I went from scared girl to a confident woman. I'm not saying I don't have a lot to learn still (I would be a fool to think that), but I have history with this company and I have done a lot of good work (their words, not mine). I appreciate them giving this girl a second chance. I appreciate them taking time to teach me to become a leader. I appreciate them wanting to invest in my career and wanting me to succeed.

Every company has issues, and mine is no exception, but I am incredibly grateful for these past 10 years. I really am a different person than I was when I started. And so much of that is because of CH2M HILL.

(Funny side note: I heard about a year later after leaving my former company, that the guy who fired me, was later found out to have stolen company information to form his own company. This guy was quite a hypocrite and had no ethics - yet he had the nerve to say I wouldn't make it?! It's nice when you know that you don't have to get even. I believe that when lies and lack of integrity are involved, you will always be found out.)

So today - today I celebrate 10 years! How many people can say that they have been anywhere that long?! And according to that former employer, I wasn't supposed to have made it this long. But - I give much of that credit to God. He believed in me and made it possible for me to work here.He believed anything was possible!  He knew I would do it. And so did they! I have mentors that knew. So thank you, CH2M HILL. Thank you for 10 years! Thank you God for helping me grow here! And here's to many more....