EHRA was selected as one of two firms to provide professional surveying services under contract to Houston Community College System.
EHRA assisted with the district creation of Montgomery County Municipal Utility District No. 126 to accommodate a ±329 acre master planned community located in northern Montgomery County in the City of Conroe, south of League Line Road, west of Longmire Road, and adjacent to Lake Conroe.
Project totaled 640 acres including 1256 Residential Lots. EHRA designed, created construction plans, publicly bid and preformed Construction management.
EHRA worked with the District to create a comprehensive Parks Master Plan, which included recommendations for the development of over two miles of hike/bike trails adjacent to local streets, and within flood control and utility pipeline easements. The District began implementation of the Plan by prioritizing the beautification of West Road, a major arterial street that runs through the District.
Identified as a top priority during the development of the District’s Parks Master Plan, this portion of trail was the first phase of over two miles of planned trails to provide connectivity and recreation for District residents.
To be honest, I never expected to find myself in engineering. Rather than choosing this path on my own, I like to say that Engineering chose me. My journey to this career is anything but typical. I never wanted to go to college, nor did I imagine this future when I grew up. My family and I immigrated to America in the early 90’s, fleeing the war in Nicaragua. Both my parents were in the military, and we came here as refugees. Naturally, I figured I would follow in their footsteps.
In December of 2008, I enlisted into the United States Marine Corps. I had every intention of being a “lifer” as we say. I thought I would retire as a Marine doing 20+ years, but God had other plans for me. Instead, after sustaining several injuries, surgeries and treatments, I was medically retired in 2016. I truly had no idea what I would do with my life, but I was a single mother of three and I felt I had limited options.
Once I retired, I realized I could not afford to live where I was, so I packed myself and my kids and drove halfway across the country down to Texas with $100 in my pocket and put the rest in God’s hands. I knew that the traumatic brain injuries I suffered really messed up my memory and my ability to retain a lot of information, so I feared going to school and failing. However, knowing that the military would pay for me to attend school, I made the decision to register shortly after arriving.
I went to school for the sole purpose of putting food on the table. After just one year, I graduated with my Associates of Science and did not know what to do next, but I knew I needed to continue. I told my counselor, “I like math, science and art. What can I do with that?” Naturally, she guided me towards engineering. I said, “Ok, sure! That sounds fancy.”
I went back to school and achieved my Associates of Science in Civil Engineering, at which point I was all in. I went on to attend UT Tyler, where after seven years of school and failing classes due to my health, I finally graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. At this point, I had no plans or idea what I was doing or where I was going with this degree, but I knew I needed a job. Fortunately for me, Truman Edminster was my professor. I came to him and asked him if he thought I was a good fit for his company, and he told me the Facilities team is looking to hire and asked if I was interested. Intrigued, I asked what that was. He said, “You know, that lift station you designed for your project?” I said “Oh, yeah! That was hard! Cool, I like a challenge.” That is when I became Paul Anderson’s headache (Haha).
All jokes aside, the last 2.5 years I have been at EHRA Engineering have been the most challenging but rewarding years of my life. I have learned so much and accomplished so much in such a short period of time, and I take so much pride in my work. From months of designing our main template for concrete bullseyes and EHRA’s first reuse system to now becoming a director for a MUD in Brazoria County! Paul has been by far the best leader I have ever had the privilege of working under, and I look forward to the many more years ahead that I get to continue to grow and learn from him and all my project managers.
I am grateful to be part of a company that puts our families first. Being a single mother in a demanding career field can be overwhelming, especially having no family in Texas. The Facilities team and its leaders have been a blessing, who have supported me and made it possible for me to be both a mother and an engineer. Our team is a family, and we are each other’s biggest supporters. Because of them, I look forward to coming to work every day; we have fun, we learn, we grow, we celebrate and we cry together. Their understanding of my learning styles and patience with me are the greatest gifts I could find in a team.
Ultimately, I do this for my kids, and I want to inspire them and others to never give up. I hope to reach other people who feel they are not capable, especially single parents who think it is impossible. I want everyone to know that even through failures, setbacks or tough times, your goals are attainable, and the struggle is worth it. Never give up, and don’t make excuses.