 |
 |
|
|
|
| Spotlight on Kathy Garza, CCC |
 As the
various spotlight articles have highlighted, women in project
controls exhibit characteristics of perseverance, determination, and
fortitude. This month’s spotlight features Kathy Garza, who is no
different. In fact, one might say that Kathy exemplifies the word
“determination.” Kathy Garza is currently a project controls analyst
at a US Security Complex, working on projects for the Department of
Energy, U S Navy, and the Corps of Engineers.
Kathy grew up in
Southern California, in Hemet. Her father was a Hereford cattle
rancher. After taking an accounting class in high school, and
enjoying it, she pursued and received an AA degree in banking and
finance from American River College in 1974. After receiving her
degree, she married, had her first child, and began working for
Bergen-Patterson as a drafting consultant while her husband was
working at Bechtel in San Onofre.
When Bechtel needed some
assistance with checking and logging drawings, Kathy did the work at
night, at home. She went back to school in 1990, to get a nursing
degree, and began her brief career as a nurse. As a nurse, after
watching two patients die, Kathy realized that she preferred to be
in control of situations and not just be an observer or bystander.
Ms. Garza became involved in project controls in 1992. She became a
clerk in the geotechnical department at Bechtel, and six months
later started work in the Bechtel Project Controls division as an
administrative assistant, later solving system problems and becoming
a project controls analyst. She has been working for Bechtel in
Project Controls for the past 14 years.
Kathy is a Certified Cobra
Software Trainer/Programmer, became a Certified P3 trainer in 1999,
and received her CCC in 2004. Kathy is the operator for the User
Support Line, answering P3 and SAP questions for approximately 200
project controls personnel. Kathy has developed in-house training
modules for advanced P3 and SAP, which are linked by BWXT Y-12's “P3
Bud” bridge software. This software was developed to transfer cost
data from P3 to SAP in order to manage the multiple calculations of
overheads necessary at the Y-12 National Security Complex. She has
also created a desktop module for instruction, and maintains a
website with the latest training information. Ms. Garza has worked
with earned value for over 14 years. She developed an EVMS review
course for BWXT Y-12. Kathy has set a new goal for herself to become
EVMS/EVP certified.
Kathy Garza initially attended AACE
International meetings with her husband Armando, who is a member,
and she volunteered to help out at various section events. She
officially joined AACE International in 2001, as a part of the BWXT
Y-12 LLC corporate sponsorship program. In 2003-2004, she was
elected Vice-President of the East Tennessee Section, and held the
office of President for 2005 and 2006. She was the recipient of the
Outstanding Section President Award in 2005.
Kathy was instrumental
in developing a review course for the EVP certification for the East
Tennessee Section. As the Past President of the East Tennessee
Section, Kathy saw herself becoming less active on the board of
directors, so she volunteered to be the East Tennessee Section 2006
Fall Seminar Chairperson as well as the hostess for the 2007 Annual
Meeting in Nashville. As her activity in the East Tennessee Section
shows; Kathy likes to be a part of “What’s Going On!” As if all the
above isn’t going to keep her busy, she is also the secretary for
the Women in Project Controls Committee. She is very passionate
about women in this field and is grooming younger women in her local
AACE International Section to follow in her footsteps. Kathy
believes strongly that AACE International has made her grow as a
person, taught her how to be a leader, and enabled her to gain
management skills as Vice-President and President.
Ms. Garza has
successfully overcome many obstacles in the pursuit of her career
goals. One of her earliest career hurdles came from within Bechtel.
She was pursuing her degree and needed a manager’s signature on
tuition reimbursement paperwork. One manager did not think that she
could juggle work, school, and be a “good wife and mother.” He
refused to sign the documents. Demonstrating her determination,
Kathy found another manager and persuaded him to sign the papers.
She received her Bachelors degree while meeting her work commitments
and succeeding as a “good wife to her husband and mother to her
three sons” (she hasn’t heard any complaints from them yet…).
Kathy
ultimately received a BS degree in Business Administration from the
University of Tennessee Knoxville in 1998, with minors in
International Management, Operations Management, and Human Resources
Management. She has had some assistance on the home front, where her
husband does the floors and outside work, helps to clean the house,
and does the grocery shopping, although she won’t let him touch the
cooking or laundry.
When Kathy began her project controls career
with Bechtel, there were only four or five women in a group of 30
people. Now, she admits, the women in her department outnumber the
men. She does have various words of advice for young women entering
the profession, including the following.
- Never lose your
professionalism, even when you are fighting a losing battle against
a male-dominated point of contention. Respect has to be earned. Men
may listen to women who act masculine and aggressive, but they don't
respect them.
- Regarding AACE International, get involved with all
of the extra things that are going on!! Within the association there
is a good support group, and other women who are struggling with
some of the same issues. In hindsight, Kathy believes that working
in the same division as her husband may have been a barrier to her
compensation and advancement of her career, as her husband, Armando,
is a manager in project controls. Kathy indicates that several other
women in her department have kept their maiden name for use in their
career.
Ms. Garza sees herself as a “Champion of Change.” She is
flexible and versatile. In her own words, “Change is good…when
you’re doing the same job for ten years it can be boring. With
change, you see things from people that you never dreamed of, and
they are challenged in new ways.” She seeks out challenges,
periodically taking a hard look at herself and becoming inspired to
“start moving and shaking again.”
Kathy has been married for almost
35 years and has three sons—one is a US Naval Academy graduate who
is now working for Pepsico as a project manager for Frito-Lay,
another is a surgical resident, and the youngest currently attends
the University of Tennessee, studying advertising. So, what does she
do in her spare time? She enjoys spending time with her three
grandchildren, and making things for them (she sews, crochets,
embroideries, and cross-stitches). Kathy also reads murder
mysteries, enjoys power-boating, and keeps up with her sons (who
enjoy kneeboarding and wakeboarding). She and her husband like to
travel, most recently visiting Czechoslovakia.
Article by
Kerri Hunsaker Stannard and Martha Barker
|
|
 |
|
|
