Women in Construction Week is a time to celebrate and raise awareness of women’s contributions to this traditionally male-dominated industry. At the University of Washington, a dynamic cohort of women majoring in construction management within the College of Built Environments are embarking on their journey to enter the construction industry. Their vision, leadership, and determination serve as inspiring examples to other young women considering majoring in CM. Darlene Septelka, professional teaching fellow in the UW Department of Construction Management, interviewed…
Category: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
CM Transfer Students Receive Andrew Eker and Mary Hughes Endowed Scholarship
Transfer students in the UW Construction Management program are automatically considered for the need-based Andrew Eker and Mary Hughes Endowed Scholarship. When the e-mail arrives that they’ve been granted the scholarship, they may have to double check that it’s real! Donors Andrew Eker and Mary Hughes are familiar with the heavy lift transfer students face starting at UW; Andrew was a transfer student to the program before he earned a BS in Building Construction. Although they are now based in Alaska,…
Empowering Women in Construction with Tess Wakasugi-Don
Tess Wakasugi-Don, Principal and Senior Project Manager of GLY Construction, is the first female principal in the firm’s 52-year history. Watch her interview construction management senior, Lisa Benjamin.
Update: Student Profile: Matt Novotny
Matt Novotny, CM ‘21, is an alumnus from the Department of Construction Management who now works full-time as an Engineer at Clark Construction Group. He is currently working on a distribution and fulfillment center development project in Arlington, Washington. As an alumnus, Matt returned to the college several times to assist other Construction Management students with their capstone projects. Matt remarks that he maintains many of the connections he made in the Construction Management program through occasional collaboration on projects,…
Women in Construction: Darlene Septelka
Growing up, Darlene didn’t experience the gendering of toys. Her parents made no distinction between playing with trucks, blocks or Barbies. “I never felt like ‘girls don’t do that,’ or that I should be playing with dolls, or that there was a role I needed to portray.” One day her dad dumped a pile of sand in the backyard, and she spent hours building cities in it. When Darlene was in junior high, a vocational school opened up in her…
Student Spotlight: Ruben Salazar-Izquierdo
Ruben Salazar-Izquierdo, a student in the Masters in Construction Management program, was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 2021. He anticipates finishing the program in June 2022. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. We interviewed Ruben to gain insight into his thesis research as a graduate student, and his experience as a Fulbright…
Transfer Student Highlight: Charleston Burr
Charleston Burr was a transfer student in our Construction Management program and an Andrew Eker Scholarship Scholar. Originally from Kent, Washington, he transferred to UW in 2020, from Green River College in Auburn. Charleston graduated in 2021 and is now a Project Engineer at Hensel Phelps, where he is focusing on gaining experience and developing professionally while working on a diverse range of unique and challenging construction projects. This interview was conducted in 2021 while Charleston was attending UW. Degree…