Shiel Sexton Spotlight…
Our next Shiel Sexton Spotlight is Natalie Shotts, one of our Estimators! She has been working at Shiel Sexton for four years now, and in this interview, she talked with us about what she likes about the organization, her position, and her recent transition to operations.
What is your position within Shiel Sexton?
For the last four years I’ve worked as one of our Estimators in the Indy office, but now I am currently transitioning to a new role where I’ll be working with our Special Projects group, learning more about the project management responsibilities.
What do you like most about Shiel Sexton, or your position within the organization?
One of the aspects I love about working at Shiel Sexton is the support received from our management team. When I started working here, I took classes at IUPUI, eventually earning a Bachelor’s in Construction Management. The Shiel Sexton management team was extremely supportive of me obtaining my degree; while also challenging me professionally with being the lead estimator on competitive bids and budgets. Shiel Sexton promotes a culture of self-development which is something that I really love. The executive staff are cognizant to the future goals of their employees, and they allow us to explore other areas of interest. I am a perfect example of this type of leadership, as I am currently transitioning to a new role more focused on the operational aspects of what we do.
Working as an estimator, I loved learning about upcoming projects. For example, with our Bottleworks projects, I really enjoyed working through the preconstruction process as well as learning about the official plans for the spaces, potential tenants, and the ways in which the buildings will be used. It was interesting to get a front seat to the ideas before construction even began.
What are your typical day-to-day responsibilities?
My typical day-to-day responsibilities in my Estimator role varied based on the projects I would work on, but I generally handled detailed take-offs, communicating with subcontractors on scope of work, soliciting for bids, as well as putting together budgets and competitive bids. Building strong relationships with subcontractors has always been a priority to me.
Transitioning to this new role as a project engineer, I am now writing scopes for subcontractors, creating submittals, and establishing workflows between subcontractors, architects, and our team.
What are some of your favorite projects that you’ve worked on during your time with Shiel Sexton?
Over the years, I’ve been lucky to work on so many interesting projects, but a few that stand out the most would be the Purdue Memorial Hotel Renovation and Ground Floor Dining, Bottleworks including the Garage Dining, High Alpha, Living Room Theaters, and Building 13, and St. John’s Catholic Church. There are many more, but those were especially challenging, and rewarding.
What do you like most about working in the Construction industry?
One of my favorite aspects of construction, and more specifically working for a general contractor in the commercial field, is the overarching theme of learning and progress. No matter how many projects I’ve been a part of, there is always something to learn. I am grateful to be in a profession where I know there is always room to improve. Secondly is progress: it is such a rewarding feeling being a part of a project that is tied to the higher education of our community, or that has historical significance. Being involved in improving and expanding those types of areas is exceptionally rewarding.