PROFILE: Jamie Pursley Helps to Bulldoze Barriers

Construction management grad Jamie Pursley has been tearing down walls.

And she plans to keep on "bulldozing" those walls after she graduates in June with a second baccalaureate degree from UC's College of Applied Science. When earning her first UC diploma - a bachelor's degree in Construction Management last June, Jamie was part of the largest class of female graduates ever in the Construction Management program. The nine women represented 16 percent of their graduating class. That may not sound like much until you realize that in previous years, only one or two women typically graduated from Construction Management.

For those women who will follow after her into the construction industry, Jamie strongly recommends: follow your gut instinct and your heart. "There are always people who will tell you that 'you don't belong here.' But those types...are usually against you from the beginning and are not your true friends," she affirmed. "It is very difficult to be in such a rough field, especially where there are not many, if any, female role models. There have been...times when I wondered if this was the field for me."

Jamie has persevered, in part, because she thinks the construction industry benefits when a diverse group of professionals - both men and women - contribute their skills. The balance of men and women, of people who focus on the "big picture," of people concentrating on nailing down details, labor and management, all make the difference in a successful project.

This June, Jamie, a resident of Franklin Township and a 1995 graduate of Franklin High School in Franklin, Ohio, will earn a second degree in Architectural Engineering Technology. She already has a job waiting for her as assistant project manager for local firm Megen Construction.

Thanks to her six cooperative education quarters working on large renovation and building projects locally, in North Carolina and in South Carolina, Jamie feels prepared. "Ever since I came to UC, I've felt like I've been challenged academically and practically...UC has acknowledged the limitations of the classroom. Co-op is vital. I feel that by having co-op as an option, students are better prepared and have a more realistic idea of the workforce...Without these experiences, I would not know my strengths and weaknesses in the work environment."

Jamie recalled her final co-op quarter working for Bovis Lend Lease, a global project management and construction services firm. For Bovis, she contributed to the construction of a medical office building in Sumter, SC. It was both her favorite co-op and her most challenging one.

Jamie worked with the construction superintendent and the assistant superintendent on a large-scale project that included the construction of a medical office building and an attached garage as well as the expansion of an adjacent hospital. Each floor of the medical office building was at a different stage: the first was completed while the fourth was at the framing stage.

"I had to check the work of subcontractors and problem shoot. The economy was so strong that we had particular problems getting electricians. We also had problems finding people to put in sprinklers. Our M.O.B. (medical office building) team would have to shuffle subcontractors around because, ideally, the work is all being done simultaneously. But if you don't have an electrician, you have to find other work that subcontractors can do on other floors," said Jamie, likening the whole process to putting a large, complex puzzle together.

The most important skill Jamie learned on that assignment was how to supervise other workers. It takes your best abilities to take on a job like that, she stated, especially in a field as diverse as construction. "Construction is like no other career. We're challenged and delayed by all sorts of things: weather, labor shortages, or the economy, if not all three at the same time....I've learned more than I ever thought I could," she explained, comparing UC's co-op to learning how to swim. You just have to get in the pool and start paddling.

Other challenges: Jamie recalls having to send one worker off-site because he wore tennis shoes instead of construction boots that would better protect him from hazards on the job. His supervisor took him to the local Wal-Mart to quickly buy an acceptable pair of working boots.

She also had to report when workers smoked on site because the "hospital had a no-smoking policy which we had to adhere to. Also, smoking is very hazardous on a construction site." Jamie recalls that enforcing the smoking policy was a difficult part of the job. "Maybe it was a combination of being a new employee, being young, being 'green,' and, maybe, even a female. These guys tried to play on my emotions when I found one of them smoking. The worker acted as if he wasn't familiar with the policy...After I told the worker he had to leave the site, he basically told me off. I learned a good lesson that day: people will take advantage and feed you lies...[If I accepted that and didn't enforce the policy] That news would travel fast, [and I wouldn't be effective or respected]."

She also learned the importance of laughter. One worker's mistake still makes her laugh, even though it really wasn't humorous in terms of time and effort. The worker responsible for painting the yellow divider line didn't realize that the painting guide was not properly fastened. "The yellow dividing line wobbled. It weaved here and there. It had to be sand-blasted and redone."

To meet other UC people, go to the profiles archive.