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WOMEN’S
HISTORY MONTH
Her Story…
By Rhonda Hodge and Yvonne Langley
...Doris Efid, Alice Ashley,
Ida Mae Bagby, Carolyn Balcomb, Sue Bowling, Margaret
Bubar, Margaret Cleveland, Era Dunn, Ronda
Farrell, Hazel Floyd, Jimmie Blazier, Nina Ruth
Jenkins, Ethel McKinney, Irene Moates, Mildred
Tarter and Edna Mae Tucker. What do these women
all have in common? They are the founding members
of Women in Construction (of Fort Worth), which
was established on September 11, 1953 and later
became the National Association of Women In
Construction in 1955.
As we celebrate Women’s
History Month, we have the opportunity to hear
from a very promising young woman in construction,
our very own Rhonda Hodge. Rhonda is a Project
Manager with Southfield Public Schools, who has
been working for Barton Malow Company for 7 years,
but her experience in construction began very
early on before she joined the BMC family. Read
on…
Getting Established
Rhonda has always had a love for art and design that eventually developed into
wanting a career in architecture. After studying architectural engineering
for a few years, she wanted to be directly involved in the building process,
so she began to focus on construction management.
While in college Rhonda took full advantage
of the many intern opportunities that she received.
She worked several summer jobs repairing roofs,
building patio decks, and working as a laborer
for a general contractor. (Talk about hands-on
experience) These experiences allowed her to
put her formal education “to the test”.
Through one of her summer interns, she acquired
a position as Project Engineer with a construction
management firm.
Lessons Learned
Although, entering into the construction industry was not very difficult for
Rhonda, some of the challenges that she faced during the interviewing process
and on my first project were incredibly tough and set the stage for a learning
process that has proven invaluable. Rhonda shares that “I learned there
are situations in the work environment where people may form an immediate
opinion of you based on your gender, race, or age. Ultimately it is up to
you to change that impression and redirect their focus. As a result, this
forced me to work harder and master the skills required to perform my job.”
Overcoming Challenges
Although some of the dynamics has changed over the years of working in construction
and having varying positions, Rhonda believes that “sometimes the challenge
is knowing when to be aggressive and learning how to refine your management
skills to accommodate the industry”. Rhonda states that she is able
to remain focused and positive by always setting new goals, trying new approaches,
and meeting new people. She tries to never let the challenges discourage
her, but more importantly inspire and encourage her to be the best and do
her best.
Rhonda’s advice to young women entering
the construction industry
- BE PREPARED TO ENTER INTO AN INDUSTRY THAT
IS LIKE NO OTHER! Rhonda shares some advice
that was given to her some years ago.
- Spend
lots of time in the field learning as
much as possible about the building process
(Rhonda definitely has this one covered)
- Ask
lots of questions
- Utilize your contractors, superintendents,
and peers, as they have years of experience
- Be confident
- Be Fair
- ...and most important – HAVE
FUN!!
We want to thank Rhonda for sharing “HER
Story” with us as Barton Malow celebrates
Women’s History Month, which was declared
a month long celebration by Congress in 1987. |
