You know that feeling you get when you’re outside, the warm sun shining on your face, and you look up into the clear blue sky and that blue is so deep it looks like it goes on forever? That limitless feeling that anything could be out there and anything is possible? The only way to get the full effect is to be somewhere with no ceiling, and that’s exactly where Abby Burks says she’s found herself at Parsons.
Her first clue was when she showed up to her job interview, fresh out of Auburn University, and saw that her interviewers were two women—something she didn’t expect. “You know, going to school for civil engineering, there were definitely women in my class, but it was, by and large, a male-dominated field. And so I was just really surprised, in a good way, and really enjoyed our conversation.”
And that was just her first taste of the diverse culture within Parsons’ Peachtree Corners, Georgia, office. When her interviewers walked her around the office, Abby recalls, “I could just see how diverse a team it was and how everyone got along really well and worked together. And I really liked the teamwork and the diversity. The people seemed really great, and I definitely made the right choice.” Today, she sits next to those same two interviewers at the office, and one of them is her manager, Emilee Woods, who Abby credits with enabling her growth.
“The management in my office here in Georgia, they just really go above and beyond to recognize when people are working hard and what they’re succeeding at and what their goals are. And they really do everything in their power to facilitate growth in whatever it is that you’re wanting to do as far as your career goals. And then specific to Emilee, she’s been just the most incredible mentor to me. I think I’ve learned so much from her through our almost weekly one-on-one discussions about my progress and the projects. She leads by example in everything she does, how she carries herself, how she writes her emails, how she coordinates with the clients and with different disciplines within the office.”
And outside the office? Abby says her colleagues feel more like friends than coworkers. From Sunday soccer games to happy hours, kids’ birthday parties, bowling, and Braves games, she’s found a group of like-minded people who like to take advantage of everything the Atlanta area—and Parsons—has to offer. “When I first started at the office, I had a couple of engineers who were, like, maybe just a year or two older than me. And they were walking around introducing me to everyone, and they just asked like, ‘Hey, what are you doing after work?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know. I just got here and planning on just going home.’ And they’re like, ‘We’re going rock climbing if you want to come.’ I felt that immediate camaraderie by being included in what they were doing and just feeling a part of the team from day one.”
In the end, she says that Parsons’ big advantage is our people. And while we may work on really cool projects, not many companies that do the work we do have an office that’s 50 percent female—or a female CEO, for that matter. And between the gender diversity and the diversity of backgrounds, ethnicities, skill sets, and everything else, Abby hasn’t just found a place where she fits in—she’s found a place she can thrive, one where there’s no ceiling, blue skies, and endless possibility.
Are you ready to join a team where everything is looking up?