Women in Construction week is the first full week in March. Currently, only 13% of employees in the construction industry are female, according to Construction Coverage. By highlighting women at Clyde Companies, we hope to increase the number of women who decide to begin a career in construction.
For Morgen Baldwin, growing up around construction was a way of life. Her family was accustomed to building houses and moving frequently. Being involved in the process of seeing the world being built was always appealing to her. When it came time to choose a degree in college, she knew what industry to gravitate towards.
“I originally thought I wanted to go to school for architecture, but I quickly decided that I wasn’t artistic enough and couldn’t do anything like that,” Morgen said. “But I still wanted to be in the construction industry. I liked the idea of seeing something come together, the entire process from start to finish.”
Originally from Ohio, Morgen has a passion for mountain biking and winter sports. When she needed to find an internship to complete her college degree, she was drawn to the mountains of Utah.
“I started working out here as an intern my sophomore year of college, and then once I was looking for full-time employment, I pretty much only looked in Utah,” Morgen said.
She started at WW Clyde in 2014 and has been a part of the industry since then. Morgen works as a Project Manager, primarily helping manage third-party utilities.
“I help with managing the design and construction of all utilities on our projects,” Morgen said. “During the design process, we work with the construction team in conjunction with our design team to develop the most cost-effective utility relocations that need to happen.
“Once we get into construction, I help coordinate when those contractors to get them what they need. I’m essentially the first point of contact for all the utility crews as well.”
Morgen loves the fast-paced aspect of her job and the challenges that it brings on a day-to-day basis.
“I problem solve all day long,” Morgen said. “Especially when the jobs are in full swing. I like getting to work with multiple different types of people, whether it be design engineers, the owner, or even just working with crews in the field. It’s quite a diverse group of people.
“I love learning how to navigate those relationships and communicate with different people. It’s a bit of a challenge, but I love being engaged and interested all day long. The days go by quickly.”
Typically, Morgen has exclusively worked on UDOT jobs in joint ventures.
“I didn’t really think I would be in civil,” Morgen said. “In school and life, you don’t really learn a lot about building bridges or roads. You see houses and commercial buildings. Those things are more interesting to the general public. I’ve quickly found the earthwork side of things a lot more interesting than commercial construction though.”
Collaborating with other companies in their joint ventures has been a learning experience for Morgen that she loves.
“I think it is really cool to be able to see how other companies run,” Morgen said. “You can take the things you see them do well and mold them into how you want your own work style to be. I think that’s one of my favorite parts about the job.”
Morgen believes that the construction industry is really just a relationship industry.
“It’s basically who you know and how you interact with those people,” Morgen said. “Traditionally, I think women don’t choose construction as a career because it seems to be a male-dominated field.
“However, I believe emotional intelligence and people skills, which are typically seen as skills that women have, are a huge asset in construction that people don’t think of.
“If you know what you’re doing and have confidence in yourself, there really shouldn’t be a reason why you can’t be successful.”
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