Vaughn Maracle

Vaughn Maracle is a project manager for a construction company in New York State, a path he took following after his father who worked as a general contractor.  As a child he always wondered how things worked, and spent a lot of time with his dad on construction sites.

“It’s natural for engineers to have that curiosity, to figure out how things are built and to figure out what has to come next to make it work,” he says.

Vaughn started university studying history, but then made a big change into Civil Engineering.  Switching from study in history to science was challenge.

“I was not prepared for the problem sets of coursework in my engineering classes.  I was used to doing a lot of reading and writing papers.  I had to force myself to practice problem set after problem set to finally get my grades on track,” he explains.

Since graduating, Vaughn has spent his career working in the construction industry.  His current job finds him in charge of renovating and adding additions to five school buildings, as well as building a new bus garage.  He has to manage the budget, schedule and also makes sure the quality of the work is high.

This job presents Vaughn with exciting challenges every day. “I am always challenged with new problems, new methods, new contractors, and it’s all about figuring it out,” he says. He also sees the value in developing people skills, which are every bit as important as technical skills when it comes to working in engineering.

To future engineers, his message is clear: “Think outside the box and go for it!  It’s an extremely rewarding career choice.”