Women In Engineering - Sarah Simon, PE

• With AMA since 2006

• Position: Civil Engineer

• Discipline: Stormwater

Sarah is a mother of two. She and her husband corral a dog and two birds on top of that. Sarah lists her hobbies as reading, hiking, family backpacking, kayaking, knitting, playing flute, dabbling in guitar, art things, and drawing. Sarah says she has more hobbies than she has time for. Sarah was Allgeier Martin's first female engineer. She remarks, "I was trained by Joe Wilson and Dr. Patterson, so I like to think I know a few things." Sarah’s projects may involve remapping floodplains, sizing bridges, watershed management, anything and everything stormwater.

"Um, actually Sir, I'm an engineer."

Sarah says, "I was always led to expect discrimination. That I would be held back, held down, and be looked down on but I really haven't experienced that. I'm comfortable working with guys but it also has to do with who you work with." There have been very few times she's been treated differently because she's an engineer. With a laugh, she recollects a story from before the Wilson Hydro merger. Joe and Charlie had gone to lunch while she stayed at the office. She answered the phone and the man on the other side said, "Oh, I didn't know Joe hired a new secretary." This early-20s Sarah paused. "Um, actually Sir, I'm an engineer. Would you like to leave a message?" Stunned, he responded, "Um. Um. Never mind, I'll call back later." It wasn't that he was being rude, but her journey has certainly been a surprise to people. "I've never felt that it was a big deal. If I didn't make a big deal about it, others wouldn't either." The biggest part about engineering that Sarah enjoys is helping and interacting with people.

Sarah has faced the regular challenges of the engineering industry like growing in knowledge of the profession. Her main challenge was having confidence in her competence. "Charlie must have known because he said at one conference, 'You know these other engineers? You know more than them.'" Sarah's response, "I do?" After working for so long at Allgeier Martin, she feels the confidence she had been searching for.

"It's more difficult to study for the PE when you have a toddler."

Sarah's journey to PE wasn't the most conventional, either. It was interrupted by having a baby. Sarah took some time off and worked part time for the rest of the year. "I think I was the first female employee to have a child. Policy changes were made because of me. I feel like the problem child!" Sarah would ask if she could do something, and AM would grant it but then realized they needed to update their policies. Sarah reflected, "It's more difficult to study for the PE when you have a toddler. Her husband, who is also a civil engineer, stepped up to do more cooking and help entertain their daughter to allow Sarah to focus. Both she and her husband have a focus on stormwater, which is why people think it's funny they named their daughter River.

Sarah appreciates Allgeier Martin. "They've been very good to me." Sarah's passion for her work shines. "Every project is a stormwater project, even if they don't think it is. If it's gonna get rained on, you need to think about it."