Best Woman Structural Engineer
ROSSELLA NICOLIN Associate Director – Aecom
“This award as an amazing opportunity for me to get more out there and help women in my company and in the industry.”
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When I found out I was a finalist, I could not help but jumping for joy! Also, it was even better to discover that half of the finalists in the structural engineering category were from AECOM. Once the initial surprise phase was over, I started emailing people to thank them and to let them know the good news and share the excitement with my fellow finalists in the company. And that was only the beginning. On the award night, when I heard my name to be called on the stage, I could not really believe it and the surprise and joy were even bigger! I feel it is a great recognition of the hard work done so far, for my project work but also for all the other activities – including international development – that I carried on in parallel to my daily job. I see this award as an amazing opportunity for me to get more out there and help women in my company and in the industry. The construction industry needs more and more people, especially women, and this award is for me a further push to get out there in schools and participate to special events. The WICE experience, both the judging day and the award ceremony, has been an incredible journey. On one side it was an opportunity to reflect back on my career and to receive positive feedback from colleagues and clients; on the other side, it was an enriching process to experience diversity. One of the key features of the WICE event is the breadth of award categories, spanning every possible role in the construction sector. I have met an incredible number of talented women, each one with their own different story and career, and talking to them was inspiring. AECOM have been doing an amazing job both in promoting the awards internally and in supporting all candidates in the submission questionnaire and interview process. Hence for next year, I am hoping my company will keep doing just more of the same and I will make sure to be there in supporting our candidates. This year AECOM had a record number of finalists and we need to continue with the trend. The WICE awards are a terrific opportunity for women to be recognised and I am strongly recommending all companies to put forward their candidates. It is not just about winning but giving a voice to all the sung and unsung “female heroes” of our industry.
THE EUROPEAN WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING AWARDS >> MAY 2017