Master Builders of Iowa

The MB EYE on the Future Class of 08-09 began a new trend for the industry by telling a Success Story of their own careers or of someone they know. Here we share the submitted stories on a "first come, first serve basis" with the industry personnel and the public. We encourage you to submit your story with a photo of the person you are portraying by emailing Fernando Aveiga at faveiga@mbionline.com. Leaders are inspired by leaders and by collecting and sharing all these amazing stories of the people who build Iowa, we feel that our commitment to serve our communities is all worth it.

By Amy Boelk (Knutson Construction)

My Story

While I do not consider myself a hero of the industry, I do think I am a unique participant in the industry.  I know many women who are involved in the industry from a subcontractor/supplier side, but not many on the general contractor side.

My story starts in high school when my guidance counselor recognized I was ‘good’ in math and science.  They suggested I try engineering at college.  As more of this idea sunk in, I became interested in designing bridges.  Then came honors chemistry.  My love for this class drove me to register as a chemical engineering student at the University of Iowa. 

In order to understand my college of choice, you first need a little information.  I grew up in Marshalltown (30 minutes from Ames), I was raised a die hard Hawkeye.  Right or wrong, my parents instilled in me the love for the Hawkeyes and anyone who played Iowa State.  I can with 100% certainty say this love for my Hawkeyes and distaste for the Cyclones determined my college of choice.  Never, no matter what interested me, would I have attended Iowa State University.  Therefore, construction engineering was not a choice for me.

After 1 semester and a poor grade in a weed out chemistry class, I decided chemical engineering was not for me.  I switched to Civil Engineering, remembering my desire to design bridges and Civil Engineering did not require any further chemistry classes.  In my third year, I took a structural design class and decided I would like to do a construction internship in order to better visualize the connections and other structural elements I had just learned about. 

Newly married and living in Marshalltown, I spent the summer of 1997 working for a small construction firm doing mostly office type stuff.  Somehow, I ended up laboring on a small concrete project for a month.  During that time, I learned how to do construction layout, set Symons forms, and tie rebar and vibrate concrete.  I loved it, absolutely hands down loved it.

Being an avid golfer since the age of 10 and attending engineering school, I was used to living, co-existing, surviving in a male dominated world.  This was no different and when the summer was finished, I was proud of myself to survive another male dominated arena.  I loved that summer and decided I would like to pursue a career in the construction field.  Given the fact I was entering my senior year, it didn’t make any sense to switch programs or schools.  I knew I would have an uphill battle come graduation time to secure a professional position in construction as a woman without the appropriate degree, but I was prepared for the challenge.

Nearing graduation, life circumstances found me getting divorced and the plan I had for my life and employment completely derailed.  I now found myself outside the hiring window with no job and no idea of where I wanted to be.  I managed to get a few interviews for estimating positions, but was never their first choice.  Graduation came and went and for a few different reasons I landed in Chicago.  Through my future husband, I found a position with an engineering firm doing inspection.  After 6 months of surveying and some drafting, I was offered the chance to help start up another office for this firm.  This firm spent the next year and a half thriving in the telecom boom designing fiber optic routes throughout the city of Chicago.  During that time our firm worked in a design build mode with a utility contractor.  By working with this construction company, I strengthened my abilities to work with men and confirmed my desire to work in the construction field.  In 2000, my fiancée and I decided to move back to Iowa to be closer to family and friends.  It was a tough decision as we both had good jobs, but we just didn’t want to raise a family in Chicago.

In college, I had a friend who had interned with Knutson Construction.  She had always spoken highly of the company and had introduced me to the Vice President when we were in school.  Finding me in a place where I could start over, I decided to call Knutson and see if they had any openings.  I sent off my resume and within a week, the VP called me for an interview.  A few weeks later, I had a job as a field engineer.

9 years, a marriage and 3 children later, I find myself still at Knutson in an Assistant Project Manager role.  During those 9 years, even though there have been difficulties, I have realized what a great experience it is to work in construction. 

First, one of the greatest things about construction is the variety.  No project is the same, no problem is the same, no success is the same, and no day is the same.

Second, the sheer amount of career paths that are available within construction is amazing.  These career paths and subsequent earning possibilities are available whether you have been to college or not.  In my case, my background is not even construction and yet I was able to seek out these possibilities.  I will soon be venturing down a career path I could never have envisioned for myself if I had stayed in engineering.  Construction is what got me here and it is what has opened doors for me.

Finally, you build or assist in building a lasting product.  Something you can drive your kids by 20, 40 or 60 years from now and tell them “I helped build that building”.  In the case of doing projects for the University of Iowa, maybe you will be able to say someday that you helped build the building where they found the cure for cancer, who knows.  In my case, I can tell my kids I helped build the Iowa City Water Plant that improved our city water so much, it tests purer than some bottled waters.  When we walk through the front doors of the Iowa City Public Library, I can tell them about all the interesting things we found when we demoed the building next door in order to build an addition and renovate the library from 2002-2004.  Someday I can tell my daughter how her name is part of history.  She was born while I was working on the reconstruction of the Old Capitol Dome and the superintendent wrote her name and the day she was born in the daily reports.  Those reports are archived in history as part of that project.  Even though I was not part of this project, I can tell my son, that my company built the new south end zone at his namesake, Kinnick Stadium.  In addition, hopefully in the near future, I can tell my other son, that my company is helping to renovate his namesake, Carver Hawkeye Arena (in fact Knutson built this building originally).  Some days construction drives me crazy, but most days my heart swells with pride when I think of all I have been lucky enough to be a part of.

I often reflect on where I would be if I had not pursued construction when I made the move back to Iowa City.  It is not something I can even imagine at this point.  My life since that point has been so firmly rooted in construction; I cannot imagine life without being involved in it somehow.  It has become part of what defines me as a person.  I will never regret the decisions that got me here and I will never regret pursuing a career in construction.