Harper Talks Episode 53 – Kiara Trejo

I'm Brian Shelton and you're listening to Harper Talks, a co-production of Harper College Alumni Relations and Harper Radio. Today on Harper Talks I'm excited to speak with Chiara Trejo. Chiara is a 2011 graduate of Harper College and currently works as a construction manager for Arggmore Rodrick, which has brought her back to the Harper campus to work on the Canning Center. Chiara and I met in the podcast lab and building D. Thanks for being here. Hey thank you for having me. I'm very excited to be here. Yeah how's today going how's the construction project going? We get into that later but yeah no so far so good. My day today is consistently being actually there at the construction project. Yeah so you're able to walk over to the podcast lab. Oh it was really easy just one two-minute walk from the trailer so yeah no problem at all. Very cool. I want to talk about the Canning Center in a minute but you were a Harper student from 2009 to 2011 majoring in architectural and building sciences technology. That's correct. Something I would not major in but thank you very much. How'd you come to that? Like how was that like is that a desire to design? Manage what? What's going on? I mean honestly like ever since I was a kid I always wanted to do I want to get to an career that was challenging and growing up I always loved math and I loved I'm not designing per se but drawing you know more in the arts department so when I was in high school I still kind of was if you didn't know when I want to get into I actually moved from Mexico here. I was born in race in Chicago and when I was 14 my family decided hey let's move to Mexico. So over there I did half of my high school career came back here, finished my high school career here and then I had some friends that were in an architecture club at high school and I would see the plants the blueprints and all of that and I it really intrigued me so I decided to go for it and I joined a club and I really loved it and so obviously it was a very very beginning of that part but then that's when I decided well just being here two years of high school and then having to go straight into college I had no idea what where I wanted to go. I didn't know anything about any of the universities in Illinois or anything like that so I did hear about community colleges and how that was and also a really good option to go into right after high school so I did some research on that and then I that's how I landed in Harper. That's cool. Yeah and then I found out they had an architecture program. A whole department actually and I was that was really exciting so then I knew this is this is definitely the next step for me. Yeah it's so great when you find something that really like trips your brain right makes you want to go into this. Oh my gosh it just felt it felt right it felt right and then I did my visit and I and I loved it it's such a big community college you know everyone thinks community colleges as something almost as inferior to going to a four-year university but it definitely did not feel that way coming here. Yeah for sure. You walked over here from the Canning Center construction project I was curious how has campus changed since since you were here 2009 2011. Oh my gosh a lot. Yeah a lot. I mean when I honestly first coming back to Harper I haven't come back since I graduated from here so so in that time I definitely missed a lot of changes that were happening here. Building D I mean let's just go there. That's a whole new building. It's completely redone you know and now there's Starbucks here and it's just amazing and I see there's a lot of like new buildings also it's not just the Canning Center but there's also other buildings that are being constructed now and to provide just you know more programs and more classrooms for the for the students I think it's amazing but it's it's amazing changes that have have happened. Yeah so not only education but Harper's kind of played an outsize role in your life didn't you meet your husband here? Yeah oh my gosh it's so fun you bring that up but yeah I and that's one of the honestly things that I loved about coming back and doing a project here is going down memory lane so we had actually friends that are in common. Now he went to a different high school than I did okay and so we didn't meet in high school but when we came to Harper we had some of the same similar friends and so our friends would get together during lunch and he would be in that group and I would be in that group and then we just started talking and it started you know he would take me he would take walk me to my class you know things like that but then it yeah it definitely grew into something and now you know he's my husband and we got two beautiful children together so that's really cool yeah it's really cool I always sent him photos like hey remember this spot remember we used to hang out here because we would have lunch right there at up building a cafeteria and I would send him photos and he's like wow that's so insane that you're back I'm like I know that's fantastic it is I love it so from Harper you went to IIT for both a bachelor's and a master's degree did we do a good job preparing you for that that's tough school oh my gosh yes you honestly Harper definitely did I mean Harper you know they taught me a lot of the basics to get me started which was great and I did get the option when I transfer to IIT they gave me the option to start as a second year student instead of for first year but they did tell me that it was going to be very complex because architecture you know the career itself is very complex career and they did give me the option so I said you know what I'm not in no rush to graduate I could definitely do the one year if that's what they think that it'd be best for me now coming to Harper I was able to get a lot of the like core Gen Ed classes out of the way so they were able to take a lot of those classes which was great but I didn't I felt confident starting at IIT is an architecture program because I was not at zero and you a little bit of auto CAD I knew a little bit of you know 3d modeling and even building models out of scrap so no it definitely did prepare me for for the career at IIT I was curious you started architecture and then moved to construction management which are very related and you know but how do you go from architecture from like the design aspect of construction to construction management actually managing the projects and I guess tell us what really a construction manager does maybe in addition to that if not big questions yeah big question yeah okay so so I'm gonna start off with I like I never even knew about like the construction management side when I when I joined this architecture club in high school even coming to Harper all A.C.L. was like the design part of it now I did take it Harper I did take a class they had us do a project where we would go into a construction site if they allowed us in and to document the progress of a building so I did it for a residential town home in Chicago when I took you take photos and you create like this almost like a like a progress binder for the class and that was like the the final grade I love doing that I loved being on the field and seeing the progress of construction luckily I was able to meet people there and they would allow me to come in and take photos but anyway so going into IIT you know they told us hey we think it is also very important for you guys to be able to explore miners right so you could still be doing architecture but if you have a miner in business structures construction management like it will give you like they'll open more doors for you right when you right exactly and so I looked into all of it because I I really was between business and construction management but then I really that's when I started doing research and construction management not a lot of people did that they went into business or structures but then I was like what is construction management and so I did my research and it's really you're managing like itself like what it says you're managing the construction of a project so you are on the field at all times for the progress you're documenting you're overseeing it you're making sure that everyone is following what's on the documents are being designed by the architect so it's the other side and now you're also representing the owner and make because the owner you know they'll fund you sometimes they'll fund the project and sometimes they're very involved sometimes they're not very involved and that's why they hire construction managers so that the construction of managers sort of like their eyes out to make sure you know that everything is going accordingly and so I you know doing looking into that and I'm like wow that's that's exactly what I want to do I don't want to just be like behind a computer during design work all day every day, but I also want to be on the field in tracking all of the progress. So I was like, "Why not? I think that'll be, that'll be a good hand in hand. I'll know not only design, but understand the construction aspect. And that's how I started taking a minor in construction management. And then I developed that into a dual degree and obtained my master's degree in that. So. That's really cool. Yeah. Yeah. It was a great opportunity. Yeah. Are there a lot of Latina women working in construction management? Do you run across a lot of? No, honestly, unfortunately, I would say, no, I don't. I've been in the construction industry now for eight years before that I was just doing architecture. And in every single project, I mean, not even like in management, not as like construction workers or anything like that. Do you really see women, period at all? And then to further look into Latina women, you really don't see that. And so, in these projects, maybe I met, I mean, I can count in like 10 fingers. And the company that I currently work for, they're very diverse. And so, and even then, there's still not a lot of Latina women. And that's and I'm here also like to try to, you know, I know it is a challenging industry. And you do, I mean, as a woman, you do get a lot of challenges because of that. Even being in the construction field, it's just not dominated by men. It's a male dominated industry, right? And so you're kind of fighting that battle. Every day, every day. But you know what? I think it's important also to be that person, to be doing that for other generations. And just hoping to inspire. Yeah. Yeah. Have you, I don't want to put John to spot, but have you done anything for like recruiting other women into the industry? Or is that something you would be interested in doing in the future? Definitely. Right now, currently, most of my volunteer work comes through my company. And it's mostly, we do like Habitat for Humanity or Metro Chicago. And then we go and help. We assist in families that need any type of, you know, construction help in their homes. And so, and I've also volunteered for, we have a, a relationship with a, in elementary school, in the South Side of Chicago. And then we go and volunteer and, and we do like STEM activities with the kids. And just try to kind of involve them in so that they can see what, what they can be, you know, when they're, when, when they're all grown up. But I definitely, I did, I was asking, here, the alumni association at Harper, if they have a mentorship program, I would be so open for that. Like I said, it's, it's, it's just important to, to be that person for someone else. And I, and thankfully, I had, good mentors, you know, throughout my career. And so I would like to be that for someone. That's really great. Yeah. A lot of times in industries, you know, if, if you don't see somebody like you in that industry, you don't know that that's available to you, right? So that's great. Make sure it. Yeah. So you just being there is a big difference. Right. So that's really cool. That's nice. So you talked about what construction management is right now you are working on the Harper campus at the canning center without giving anything in a way to get you in trouble at work or anything. How's that going? I have a vested interest in that building. So how's that going? Honestly, right now, you know, we're, we're progressing, you know, we have so many hurdles with, with the weather, but, but we are in the Midwest and we understood that from the get go. We're going to have some challenges with the weather. And even then, we have been able to, to move forward. Right now, you know, obviously we've, you have the beautiful steel structure up and you were starting to get the roof installed. So that's, that's really exciting. We have all, you know, mechanical electrical plumbing, all of the workers there. And then we're, we're doing all of the floors now. So, so we're progressing really nicely. Yeah. Yeah, I'm very excited about it. I'm excited for, for the staff and the students to be able to enjoy it once it's opened. So, when do you think what's the, what's the, um, so we're aiming to turn the building over to Harper, um, beginning of next year, okay, 2027. Um, and then hopefully they will able to open it to the staff and the students by next summer. Okay. That's, that's, that's, well, two summers from now. That's the hope. Okay. Hopefully it goes right. Yeah. But I get trouble saying this, but when I started here at Harper in 2014, uh, because we're running the radio station at a building and they're like, well, don't do anything to the radio station because we're moving into the canning center in two years. And I'm like, oh, okay. That's right. So we do, yes. That is correct. No, they're not buffing you. No, we, we do have a, and I think I believe it's on the second floor. There is a media area. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, we're moving in there now. It's just that we were supposed to move in there in 2016. Oh, I see. Oh, it took a little bit longer. Yeah. Just 10 years. Yeah. So when everybody says, oh, we're moving the canning center. I'm always like, yeah, yeah, sure. Sure. Sure. But now you actually see the building. So, well, you know, yeah. So at least, hey, there's, it's something groundbreaking. So no, you'll, you'll be in there hopefully in the next years. Yeah. It looks great. I've been watching it come up and you know, every time I go through building a year, look out the windows there and see the construction happening. And it's pretty exciting. It's very active right now. And the steel went up really quick. Oh my gosh. We were all like, wow, that was fast. I mean, something they had, you know, between 15 and 20 people working on steel work itself. So they moved pretty fast through the faces. Yeah. Yeah. My dad was in the steel industry. So I watching that go up was pretty cool for me. Oh, that's awesome. I love that. Yeah. So I ask everybody who comes in one last question. And that is what advice do you have for current Harper students? If you could sit down with a group of Harper students, what would you like to, what would you like to share with them? Oh my gosh. There's so much to be honest. And I just, it makes me think to back back to the years I was a Harper student. Because sometimes you feel like what you're aiming for in like the future, it's, sometimes it feels like you're never going to get there. Yeah. And sometimes it feels like it's just too big of a goal for you. You know, I had that, you know, being here and it's not because of, you know, that I came to community college and I didn't go to a four year university, not, not, not at all. But it's just, I think the mindset that you're in as a college student, it just feels so overwhelming. Because there's a lot of students that are not only just coming to college, but they're also working full-time or part-time or whatever. They have other things going on in their life. So it does feel very overwhelming. But what I do want to say, well, there's two things. The first thing I think that's very important is like you will get there. Like I, like, you know, you're aiming in aim high and you will get there. And one day you're going to look back and I know it's so cliche to say because so many people told me this. And I was like, yeah, yeah, everyone says this. But honestly, like one day you will be there and you're going to talk and you're going to, you're going to think to yourself, wow, like I really made it. You know what I mean? Like I got to where I wanted to be. And maybe you're not fully there yet because there's always bigger and better goals as you move through your career. But you'll know, like you will know and you'll be like, wow, I did all of that and it it all paid off. So that's number one. Number two is networking because that's a that's a big thing that I wasn't even aware of. And in Harper College, I know they give, they provide a lot of resources for for students and some of students don't take advantage of them because they don't they just think, okay, school and then wherever else they have going on in personal lives. But it starts now. Use those resources. You know, if there's any events or you know that they're inviting students to that you can be a part of do it. Sign up. Do it. You'll never know who you'll meet and you'll never know where that will lead you to. It will open so many opportunities for you. And I can really say that. And even then in this and you assist throughout college, right? So even if you're Harper, you go to you plan to transfer or you're in trade school, whatever it may be. Just make sure that you you put yourself out there. I know sometimes it can be a little uncomfortable. I get it. Especially, you know, you're starting off your career, your fresh out of high school. I get it. But do it. You know, step out of your box. Step out of your comfort zone. Go meet people. Go talk to people. Get their cards. They will one day maybe be able to provide an internship that you really want or the job that you really want. Like you just never know. And even now like having a full-time job and being in my career, it's still very important to network. Yeah, you've got to meet people. You got to meet people. You got to. And honestly, the only reason why I even was able to be a part of this project here at Harper was because I you know, the vice president of my company was talking about what everyone in the department was doing. And Harper College came up and I was like, "Oh, that's so awesome." We're partaking in a project here at Harper College. I kind of want to go see it. I didn't think I would be a part of it. And then I did this event with my company. We do the corporate challenge. We do the 5K corporate challenge in the city of Chicago every May. And last year I went to it and there was someone there from my company because we have about 300 people in our company. So there's always new people in your meeting. He was mentioning that he was here at the Harper College and overseeing the construction activities. And I was like, "Oh, wow, that's awesome. I went to Harper College. I would like it if you one day you can show me around. I would love to just go check it out." He said, "Actually, we're looking for someone that could take this role as being an advisor to construction management." And overseeing the project. I was like, "Are you saying I can get this part?" They're like, "Yeah, let me talk to some people." I was like, "That's awesome." And then that's how I landed it. So again, it's just through networking, get out of your comfort zone and go talk to people. Talk to people, mention things, bring it up. Yeah, we just never know. Come up. I had a student who came to visit me last week. She's doing an internship in LA. And I said, "Do you know that so-and-so is an LA doing an internship right now too?" And she's like, "I didn't know she was there." And so now they're reading up this week in LA. Oh, that's awesome. Because you were going to end up getting each other jobs. It's going to be great. Oh, my gosh. That's what I was saying. Like, you see each other. You know, I used these opportunities. Yeah. And don't think it was using. Correct. No, no, I got you. I know. I'm with you. Yeah, but I think a lot of people, when they think about networking, they think about it that it sounds kind of slimy. Oh, no. No, no. You've got it all. You make a genuine connection to people and you're not using them. No, that's correct. Correct. You will build relationships are very important. And sometimes you'll be able to help others. And sometimes they'll be able to help you. You know, it's all about lending a hand. Yeah. I have a student from back in 2001-2002. And he's always working in the film industry. And whenever I have a student who's working somewhere where he is, I'll call him up. And I'm like, "I have a student who's there. Can you meet them for coffee?" Oh, that's awesome. And he's like, "Oh, yeah, yeah, meet them." And we never see each other otherwise. Yes. He's all over the country doing his thing. Yes. But it's great to have that network and to be able to help other people out. Well, I mean, if you guys have any students that are going into our kitchen or construction management, send them my way. I'd be more than happy to spend an hour with them and just talk about the career. And they can ask me any questions. That's fantastic. I appreciate it. Of course. Thank you for having me. Honestly, this has been really fun. That's cool. Thank you. Thank you. Kiaritreo is a graduate of Harper College currently managing the construction of our new Student Center. If you're enjoying Harper Talks, please subscribe. And while you're at it, rate and review us so that others might find us. Harper Talks is a co-production of Harper College alumni relations and Harper Radio. Our show is produced by Shannon Hines. This episode was edited by Kobe Pozo. Our online content producer is Blue Bailey. Our theme music was created by Aiden Cashman. I'm Brian Shelton. Thanks for listening.