October 10, 2013  |  By pswrealestate

I was born in the Philippines, and spent much of my life in California. When I was 16, my family moved to Texas, and I’ve watched Austin grow so much in a short period of time. I never imagined I would fall in love with Austin, but it’s been more than 10 years and I love the vibe that the city offers and what it has become.

I have always been drawn to design and land development. While in high school, I discovered the AutoCAD program and learned that I enjoyed the design aspect of computer aided drafting. Enthusiasm for CAD led me to ITT Technical School and my experience there enabled me to work with various design disciplines such as landscape architects, civil engineers, architects, and electrical engineers. After graduating with an Associate’s Degree in Computer Science, I decided that I wanted to further my education and came to the University of Texas in Austin. Early on in my tenure at UT, I joined the Texas Crew Rowing Team and fell in love with the sport. Out of state opportunities to study architecture arose, but didn’t want to leave my team behind and ultimately decided not to continue down that path. In 2009, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Geography but it was the height of the recession and I found myself battling to find a job. It was scary time for me but I managed to land a job with the State of Texas as a social worker. I thought I had found my new career path, but I couldn’t seem to let go of my interest in design and land development, the area that inspired me to go to college in the first place.

Texas Invitational 2008, Texas Vs. Wichita State

After a couple of years waiting for the economy to turn, my longtime friend and mentor invited me to join Tom Groll Engineering. While working with Tom, I was able to learn a great deal about Civil 3D and design work.  Due to a change in workload at the firm and a desire to find new ways to grow professionally, I decided to see what other options were available. By that point, I’d been working with the AutoCAD program for over 9 years and luckily, PSW Real Estate presented a new challenge and an opportunity that I could not resist.

At PSW Real Estate, I’ve already been able to incorporate what I’ve learned in the past with my new civil engineering team.  I am grateful to be a part of an innovative company that is rethinking the way we develop small urban settings like Austin. PSW Real Estate is a company headed in the right direction, and I look forward to growing with the company as well as our clients.