Kat is a project engineer focused on scheduling and logistics and has been with JR Merit for three years. She manages all the company’s schedules in their P6 scheduling platform, looking for ways to automate processes and streamline workflows that would normally take hours to complete.  

Kat’s knack for organization and pedantic nature compliments the challenging nature of the job and the trajectory of the company. “As we grow, we get increasingly segregated and niche, which can be a challenge,” she acknowledges. “But I think it’s fantastic I’m coming to work every day and having something new, different and challenging to work on.”

If you asked her when she was 11, Kat would have told you she was going to be a professional ballet dancer, and up until the age of 19 she was training and teaching for local dance companies. After a shattered ankle that resulted in permanent nerve damage in her foot, her career plan had to take a drastically different turn.

After quickly pivoting, she landed different labor and manufacturing jobs and eventually began maintenance work at a Metadata center where she met Brandon Toepper, a career mentor and friend. Brandon was the project manager for the data center and offered Kat project management experience and training, putting Kat on her current career trajectory. To this day, he remains a valuable mentor and resource.  

Since starting at JR Merit, she’s also traveled to unique and interesting job sites, including the service station units at the Chief Joseph Dam, which is the second largest dam in the US. “Before I learned about turbines, I barely knew how a hydro turbine worked, let alone how to disassemble one. It’s been an incredibly steep learning curve at times, but working on them is one of the coolest experiences I’ve had.”

Despite all the joys in her work, one of the hardest parts has been working in this male-dominated workforce. “This is my first job with other women on my team. It’s always just been me.”

In her first few months at JR Merit, she had a tough interaction with a third-party contractor on a job site, and for Kat, it was abundantly clear that his issue was that there was a woman in that role.

“It ended up escalating to the point where I had to leave the site. Historically when I’ve heard of similar issues, it’s always been, ‘let’s hold hands and all be friends’ and not holding people accountable for their actions.”

To her surprise and delight, Kat received calls from both her team and the client, acknowledging the situation, supporting her efforts, and finding solutions to help create an environment where she felt comfortable and safe on site.

“I love my job for a lot of sappy, emotional reasons, but I think the biggest reason I like my job are the very practical reasons. It’s a hard industry to be in, but it’s fascinating and interesting and there are always new challenges. And we always need more good, smart people.”

For Kat, JR Merit has been a job where hard work and effort have proven to be as important as any college degree she could have. “As an employee, if I’m hard working, smart, and willing to put in the energy and the effort, there is no ceiling. That effort is recognized regularly and repeatedly.”

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