Abbie Rose just needed a job. She did not think that her life was about to permanently change.
A natural-born entrepreneur, Rose was running her own catering business and food truck in northwest Arkansas when the COVID-19 outbreak took hold five years ago. The food industry was among those clobbered hardest by the pandemic, and Rose’s venture — Kona Coast Tacos in Fayetteville — could not recover from the hit.
Rose joined C.R. Crawford Construction in Fayetteville as an estimating assistant and counted herself lucky. As one of the millions whose life was thrown into turmoil by the pandemic, she had found a soft landing, one that fit hand in glove with her data-driven nature.
Abbie Rose
“There’s such a great team here,” said Rose, now an analyst at Crawford. “I saw a big need for some integration and where we could really leverage our information. I’ve just been chipping away at it since I’ve been here.”
Rose did not know it when she walked through the door, but she had landed at a company that looked past her nontraditional professional background and saw a burgeoning asset. She had a head for numbers but with a marketing background that made her a great communicator. It was not too long before Crawford created a new position for Rose and later promoted her to information technology director, such is the breadth of her skills.
For a woman trying to catch on in the traditionally male-dominated spaces of construction, engineering and architecture, Rose could hardly have hoped for a better situation. The doors are flying open for others, as well. Some, like Rose, are finding companies ready to embrace their skill sets with open arms. Others have known they wanted to work in the industry since the first time they walked into a classroom. All are enjoying a rush of opportunities that were not always available to women a generation ago, and all have succeeded not only as leaders but as role models.
Kim Koch, a mechanical engineer and founding principal at Insight Engineering in Little Rock, did not grow up with her eyes set on building things. She clicked with her math and science teachers in high school and figured her burgeoning interest would translate well in the medical field. She picked chemistry with a premed track upon arriving at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, but as she plowed away at her studies, she began to wonder if the 24/7 life of a doctor was a match with her personality.
Kim Koch
“I think most people who end up in this business do so accidentally,” Koch said. “I’m no exception to that.”
Koch switched her major to mechanical engineering — she said it offered the broadest knowledge base — and worked in the manufacturing sector for a few years before eyeing something that would give her more flexibility about where she could live.
“I was looking to make a move to Little Rock, and I had a family member in the industry,” Koch said. “That was 24 years ago. I got into this construction side of engineering. I really enjoy it. One, it’s really different. One day, you’re designing a hospital; the next day, you’re designing a brewery. Also, it gives you more flexibility with a work-family lifestyle balance.”
Two decades later, Koch said she still loves the no-day-is-the-same vibe of building engineering. Insight offers planning and consultation for plumbing, electrical systems and climate control. The company’s deft touch can be found throughout the state, including at CARTI’s outpatient treatment center in Pine Bluff and the Artspace Windgate Campus in Little Rock.
Yet just like Rose, Koch owes her rise to so much more than just knowing facts and figures. She has a good touch with people, knows how to communicate and can effortlessly swing from the minutiae of blueprints to the big-picture thinking of running a business.
“They don’t teach you any of that in engineering school,” Koch said. “We may be the only degree that doesn’t have to take communications in college. I’ve been self-motivated but also employed with companies and organizations that led me through different leadership classes.”
Make no mistake — even in the numbers-and-physics world of engineering, construction and architecture, soft skills are nonnegotiable.
“There’s a lot of public speaking,” Koch said. “We interview here at Insight for, I’d say, at least 80 percent of our work. You need presentation skills and marketing skills, and then there’s the legal and business side of running the company.”
As daunting as that may seem, Koch said resources and support are plentiful. She credits the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers for her continued learning and development, as well as the Little Rock Regional Chamber’s Leadership Greater Little Rock program.
Koch has a piece of advice for those looking to run their own engineering firm: A growth mindset is great, but delegation is essential.
“My advice would be to learn enough to understand it, but then find and rely on trusted experts whose business it is to do these tasks every day,” Koch said. “Find a lawyer, accountant, bookkeeper, [human resources] advisor and even a marketing professional, and hire them to be your expert.”
Katie Bruhl, principal architect at TAGGART Architects in North Little Rock, agreed that the skills picked up after formal education prove the most vital. Growing up in Barton, Bruhl showed an aptitude for architecture early on while, of all things, playing with Barbie dolls with her cousin.
Katie Bruhl
“I was more interested in building the house than actually playing with her,” Bruhl said.
Bruhl was equally precocious in school, developing a love for both math and art that would lead her to the University of Arkansas. Still, given that she still had no formal introduction to architecture, the move qualified as a bit of a gamble.
“Growing up in a small town, I didn’t have the chance to intern at an architecture office and kind of determine if it was really something that I wanted to do,” Bruhl said. “I just kind of took a chance and went to architecture school.”
Taking that chance paid off as Bruhl parlayed her education into internships and, finally, a job at Little Rock firm Allison + Partners. Bruhl worked at Allison for 16 years, rising to the positions of project manager and principal architect.
Bruhl only joined TAGGART this year, but she said her job description has largely remained the same.
“I work with the clients from the beginning of the project through the construction of the project, keeping their budget and timeline in mind and working through the design and their goals, helping see those through,” Bruhl said.
If that sounds like it goes beyond the realms of math and art, Bruhl readily agreed. She said college provided a platform and a starting point — a vital one — but that most of the skills she employs now go beyond the basics.
“I think having a good mentor is really important,” Bruhl said, “someone that’s willing to teach you. You know, you go to architecture school, and you learn the theory of architecture, but it’s not always the practice of architecture, so having someone that can teach you those things is really essential, and I was lucky enough to have several people at my previous firm and at this firm that help me continue to learn even now.”
Mary Fair, engineer and aviation leader at Garver, studied civil engineering at the University of Arkansas, primarily because she knew it would give her a solid skill foundation. That allowed her to catch on at Garver shortly after graduating, but as she entered the specialized field of aviation engineering, she realized her engineering education had just begun.
Mary Fair
“I had some connections to Garver, so I knew the company existed,” Fair said. “They were an engineering firm, and that was kind of the extent of my knowledge. I was very green going into the engineering field.”
Fair credited a supportive environment at Garver that allowed her to develop and ask questions with her professional growth.
“I’ve really seen a wide range of positions here at the company,” Fair said, “and I’ve been supported with all the different things that you need at those levels. Early in your career, you need that technical support. Airport engineering is not taught in school.”
Cynthia Hawkins, principal architect and director of interiors at Cromwell Architects Engineers, said Cromwell’s culture of professional growth is why she has stayed with the firm for more than three decades.
Cynthia Hawkins
“Anytime something would pop up, I would put together a budget and then take it to the CEO or president and say, ‘Hey, I think this would really help with my growth. What do you think?’” Hawkins said. “Comwell is very much a participant in helping me get to where I am.”
Getting help and support from home is also key when it comes to establishing oneself in the field.
“One of the things I’m grateful for is the support system I’ve had with my family,” Hawkins said. “That includes my parents, my husband and my children. That is really helpful, too, and it is really part of my success.”
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