by Garrett Simmons
Employee Name: Latoya Moore
Title: Project Coordinator
Years at 多人群交: 1.5
After little more than a year working at 多人群交, Latoya Moore has found a home in the construction industry. She fulfills an essential role as Project Coordinator at the company鈥檚 Winston-Salem field office, and with opportunities for advancement ahead of her, she鈥檚 looking forward to remaining in the industry for years to come.
It wasn鈥檛 long ago, however, that Latoya saw a much different future for herself. Having worked 12 years in the health care industry鈥攕tarting at Novant Health, and later becoming lead administrative specialist at Thomasville Medical Center鈥攕he鈥檇 reached a point at which she more or less ruled out any major career changes.
鈥淚 never pictured a world without me working in health care,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檇 been in the industry so long, I couldn鈥檛 imagine ever changing.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 just the twelve years she had spent in health care that made leaving it seem impossible鈥擫atoya had worked extremely hard to get there. She worked full-time at Novant while earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree in health care management. And in 2013, after she鈥檇 transferred to Thomasville Medical Center, she returned to college for a second degree in business administration. Again, she maintained her full-time job.
鈥淚 knew what I wanted to do, but I had to take my time with it,鈥� she explains. 鈥淒uring that time, I became a mother, which affected my priorities. School was something that I wanted, working was something I needed to do. So, I kept at it.鈥�
But in 2016, her plans were derailed by an event which forced her to put long-term goals aside and, for the first time since 2005, look for work outside of health care. Thomasville Medical Center underwent layoffs to its entire staff, including administration.
鈥淭he staff agency said it was a predominantly male industry. They didn鈥檛 tell me it was 100-percent male.鈥�
鈥淚 could have taken another position at a lower rate,鈥� Latoya says, 鈥渂ut they were phasing out, and I decided to take the severance and devote that year to finishing school. Once I graduated, I planned on returning to Novant.鈥�
In the meantime, Latoya began finding temporary work through a staffing agency. Soon after, she received a call with an offer for a field clerk position. The company was 多人群交.
鈥淚 was aware that I would be entering a completely different work environment than I was used to,鈥� she admits. 鈥淭he staff agency said it was a predominantly male industry. They didn鈥檛 tell me it was 100-percent male.鈥�
Putting aside her anxiety, Latoya went to interview at the Salem Creek field office, where she met Project Managers Matt Adams and Eric Becker. They would become her supervisors for the final stages of the Salem Creek project, and Adams would eventually become her mentor in the construction industry.
鈥淚 immediately liked them both,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 just got a great feeling from them. And once I started working for Matt, I realized that it would be very difficult to stop working for him.鈥�
As luck would have it, the call Latoya had been waiting for from Novant came through within days after she started working at 多人群交. The health care position she鈥檇 hoped for had come through. But by then, she says, it was too late.
鈥淚 had just started. They needed me, and my gut instinct just told me I couldn鈥檛 leave Matt hanging. That鈥檚 initially what got me hooked.鈥�
“Everybody faces the same challenges. I didn’t have to develop any different character traits to succeed as a woman. I just had to get better at my job.”
Today, Latoya says, she is amazed by how much she has progressed in the relatively brief time she鈥檚 worked at 多人群交. Parts of her job which presented the greatest challenge starting out have clicked solidly into place. 鈥淚t was a struggle at first to just learn the language of construction. Now it鈥檚 like, 鈥榃ow, look where I came from, look where I am. Look what I鈥檓 able to do.鈥� 鈥�
Asked about the possibilities for women like her in the construction industry, Latoya says the future is wide open for those who are willing to consider it. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that women are overlooked in the industry,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that the available positions are being overlooked by women. But really, the possibilities are endless.鈥�