expresso 14 - en

expresso 14 | winter 2018

“Ever since I moved here, I’ve always identified myself as a Montrealer and, as such, I have always wanted to help maintain and improve the city .

overcoming obstacles to pursue a dream Elisa Martinez-Avilés, P.Eng., MSc Project Manager, Bridges | Montréal, Quebec

Elisa Martinez-Avilés has always believed that hard work pays off. As a child, she moved from Argentina to Montreal as a refugee, and she’s found opportunities to open more doors ever since. For instance, during her bachelor’s degree in biology at Concordia University, she worked part- time at a fast-food restaurant and a movie theater. After graduation, she worked as a survey team leader for the Town of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec. “I believe that all youth should find practical job experience and apply to all sorts of positions. They should gain as much experience as possible,” explained Elisa. “I will always be thankful for my customer service work, as it helped me develop interpersonal skills that I would have never acquired by study alone.” Giving back to her adopted home After the completion of her bachelor’s degree in biology, she felt there was more to be learned, and ultimately, more that could be done for the city that she calls home. She decided to complete a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, which was soon followed with a master’s degree in applied sciences in civil engineering at Concordia University. “Ever since I moved here, I’ve always identified myself as a Montrealer and, as such, I have always wanted to help maintain and improve the city. I believe that, by doing civil engineering degrees, I could eventually assist in building and maintaining Montreal.”

Fifteen years after her first work experience for the Town of Mount Royal, Elisa acquired solid expertise in design, soil and material analysis, and on-site supervision, by working with the cities of Westmount, Dollard-des-Ormeaux and the MTMDET (Quebec’s Ministry of Transportation, Sustainable Mobility and Transportation Electrification). “I’m proud to be able to tell people that I work on Montreal’s biggest revamps,” Elisa says with satisfaction. “It feels great to be entrusted with such high-level projects and being recognized for your hard work.” Bon voyage! As assistant project manager, designer and inspector, Elisa and her team successfully completed the Bickerdike Empire project in the Port of Montreal. This major port handles containers, cargo and passengers coming and going from the city. The project consisted of inspecting and conducting a damage survey of wharfs B1-B6, in conformity with the Port of Montreal’s “Système de gestion et d’inspection des quais”, developed by EXP.

Elisa inspects wharfs B1-B6 in the port of Montreal.

women at EXP | 5