expresso: mentorship

BECAUSE A GOOD STRUCTURE TEAM NEEDS A GOOD FOUNDATION

LUC O’NEIL, P.ENG. Structure Engineer Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC

“Wait a minute. Let’s look at it on Google Earth!” Words that the structural engineering team at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield office have heard a thousand times. Actually, this quip from Luc O’Neil, when a young engineer comes into his office, typifies his mentoring style – understanding and knowing the people he’s dealing with so he can help them better. With his retirement approaching, Luc reflects on his career and how he didn’t have it easy when he started at EXP 35 years ago. “I had nothing except for my knowledge and my books. That’s why, throughout my career, I have tried to make sure that new engineers don’t experience what I went through in my early days and that they get help and support.” Luc believes that you have to get to know people before you start advising them. He will talk about the weather, vacations or family. He pays attention to their interests and the things they are passionate about. Connections are made and new engineers feel more comfortable discussing the challenges they may be facing. Louise Quesnel firmly agrees. “Luc is always cheerful and his door is always wide open to us. He’s there for his team and he’s able to create a working atmosphere that’s pleasant and conducive to discussion.” Mentoring can take many forms, and Luc has always acted as an advisor and a catalyst for finding solutions. Maxime Primeau gives a good example. “One of the first projects I worked on with Luc was very unusual. A structural slab had to be completely rebuilt in an industrial setting, where highly corrosive chemicals and rebar did not make good comrades. Luc really helped me understand the project, beyond the plans, and

MENTOR |

PIERRE-FRANÇOIS GIROUX, P.ENG. Structure Engineer Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC CHARLES O’NEIL, P.ENG. Infrastructure Design Engineer Montreal, QC YACINTHE PARENT, P.ENG. Structure Engineer

MENTEES |

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC MAXIME PRIMEAU, P.ENG. Structure Engineer Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC ALYSSA QUACH, JR. ENG. Civil Engineer Montreal, QC LOUISE QUESNEL, P.ENG. Structure Engineer Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC

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