Never lost sight of her dream to work in a hands-on field

Jessica Anguiano had her heart set on working in construction. She did not let working in a heavily male field or even a failed test get in her way. Terra State became the stepping-stone to make her dream of working in construction a reality.

She became curious about construction and carpentry after helping her dad around their house as a child. In high school, Anguiano enrolled in carpentry classes at Vanguard-Sentinel Career & Technology Centers. When graduation became closer, she took the Mechanical Aptitude test and failed. Although this was discouraging at first, she never gave up on her dream to be a carpenter and build houses. Her career went on the backburner while she got married and had children, before going back to school at Terra State.

Anguiano, a Fremont native, graduated from Terra State with an Associate of Applied Science in architectural construction management in 2011. She currently works at SSOE Group, a large engineering firm in Toledo, as a project controller. On a day-to-day basis, Anguiano sets up construction projects and their budget in a computer software and continues to manage the budget and progress of the project as the construction moves along. She assists with 10 to 20 projects at a time.

After her time at Terra State, Anguiano received her Bachelor of Science in construction management from Bowling Green State University in 2017. At BGSU, she completed several internships/co-ops, one of which as a project engineer for the BGSU South Hall Renovation, now called the Kuhlin Center. She completed other internship experiences with Rudolph Libbe, Marathon Petroleum Company and Matrix Technologies.

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  DegreeConstruction Management
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  EmployerSSOE Group
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  Job TitleProject Controller
 

Terra State allowed Anguiano to learn close to home, with small classes and one-on-one attention from instructors. As an adult learner, going back to school after taking 10 years off, she was afraid that she would feel overwhelmed.

“I wasn’t sure if I would make it in construction being that I’m female and I didn’t know if there was an opportunity for me,” said Anguiano, “My professor encouraged me and shared stories of women in construction. After I graduated, I had no trouble finding work.”

Anguiano served at president of Phi Theta Kappa, Terra State’s honor society. She, along with other members, were able to raise money to donate to local nonprofit organizations. Anguiano also gained experience leading numerous PTK ceremonies and enjoyed her time alongside past college president, Marsha Bordner.

“The neat part about being in PTK was that I was able to learn a lot about myself. I got out of my shell and was not so shy talking to people, I learned about planning events and I was able to raise money for the community,” said Anguiano.

She advises current students to find a mentor in the career field that they want. There will be many discouraging times and a mentor can help push you along. A mentor can help answer any questions and act as guidance and a connection when searching for jobs.

Anguiano credits Terra State for feeling like home. She was able to learn with others in different age groups than her, without intimidation.

“I didn’t feel scared to remove that fear…One thing I learned was to not be scared to have a career,” said Anguiano, “If it is something you really want to do, take the chance and try it. You will be surprised what you get out of it.”