Featured Face: Alexandra Logigan – Senior Field Engineer; Intakes & Penstocks

Alexandra Logigan is from the Transylvania region in Romania.  She and her husband Octavian (who works for Eagle Vision Video in FSJ – the company tasked with documenting our progress through photo and video) emigrated to Canada in November 2017.  They recently became Canadian Citizens – so recently, in fact, that their Oath of Citizenship was pledged to “His Majesty King Charles III”.

While still in Romania, Alexandra earned her Civil Engineering degree with a specialty in Hydro-Technical Construction.  During her breaks between semesters, she and Octavian developed a real love for travel and experiencing different cultures.  When asked what her favourite travel experience is, she replied, “Italy for the food, Greece for the beaches, and the best people I’ve met had to have been in Cuba. But my absolute favourite is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, because I was more than a visitor there – I spent six months working with the local communities on projects related to engineering, so that experience of contributing made it my favourite place.”

Canada attracted the couple because of our multiculturalism and especially the draw of our vast landscapes, natural beauty, and outdoor recreation opportunities.  They set themselves up in Montreal, and Alexandra got a job with Kiewit, estimating in their Montreal office.  The following year, she enrolled in a Master’s degree program in Construction Management, while still working full-time at Kiewit!  She is disciplined and hardworking, and credits this to growing up in a family where both parents were active in the military.

Alexandra heard about AFDE from a friend who was working here and was really intrigued at the thought of “remote” fly-in/fly-out work rotations.  So, they moved to Vancouver, and she took a position starting as a Field Engineer at the Intakes and Penstocks segment in August of 2020.

What Alexandra likes most about working here is the camaraderie.  She appreciates the Teamwork – how everyone works towards a common goal no matter what their background or previous experience – and she loves to see the work progress.  She believes that her experience here has given her a new perspective on engineering that will only help her in the future.  She will be able to view estimating and design through the lens of construction.  Alexandra is grateful for her supervisors, from whom she has learned so much, and she has developed great respect for the Tradespeople that she interacts with on a daily basis.

Now promoted to Senior Field Engineer, Alexandra has a new set of challenges.  She finds that taking on a specific task is easy in comparison – she knows her own abilities and limitations and is confident that she can figure out how to get things done.  But now that she is responsible for delegating work to others, she recognizes that she needs to also understand their abilities and limitations, so that she can provide the appropriate supports to them.  It’s very different, but it is a challenge she accepts willingly and which she knows will only help her grow in her career.

Knowing this, her advice to people just starting out is simple: “Ask questions.  When you are young and inexperienced, there is no judgment on your abilities as long as you are interested and willing to listen and work hard.  If you do these things: ask, listen, and put in the effort, everyone is willing to help you out.”

Thank you, Alexandra, for your unique perspectives and for your contributions to the Project!