Discover Your Path: Thomas' Story
The fourth segment of the Discover Your Path series features Thomas Williams, an Assistant Project Manager that started working for Power in 2016 as an Assistant Project Engineer. Find out how the APE program helped Thomas determine his career path.
How did you hear about the assistant project engineer program?
While attending College of DuPage, Power invited our school's construction club to take a site tour of one of their jobs to learn more about the on-site activity and about the company. I remember thinking it was so cool – I immediately contacted superintendent who led the presentation and he introduced me to the APE program. I applied and shortly after interviewing was hired for the role. I quit my union tuck pointer job and have worked with Power ever since.
which projects have you worked on, and what are you currently working on?
I started working on a 17,900 sf healthcare renovation at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn. Once that completed, I went to South Suburban Hospital for three years to complete a 90,000 sf addition and renovation. Now, I am the Assistant Project Manager, working on two luxury residential projects – 868 North Wells, a 478,000 sf, 27-story building, and 920 North Wells, a 315,000 sf, 22-story structure.
how do you think the ape program influenced your career?
Being a part of the APE program gave two important takeaways (1) the opportunity to start a career without already having my bachelor's degree, and (2) the extra motivation and drive to stick with school and finish my construction management degree at Indiana State. As tough as it sometimes was to juggle work and school, my project teams were great in reinforcing that my school work was as much of a priority as our work on the jobsite.
where do you see your career going?
I'm striving for a Project Manager role. I would enjoy working hand-in-hand with the owners and architects, managing budgets and field operations, as well as preparing subcontracts. My role as Project Engineer has prepared me for these types of responsibilities and helped me determine my path.
