The leap into a new world
I come from a country with a tropical climate and love the sun. I arrived in Germany in the cold and dark month of November," Beverly says. "And now it's finally spring. I survived it!" she adds with a smile. When she decided to move to the headquarters of the renewable pioneer in Germany, she knew she was embarking on big changes.
I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, immerse myself in a new country, engage with new tasks, and thousands of new opportunities.
The experienced civil engineer plans the structural design of large solar parks. Terrain structure, topography, vegetation, soil conditions, slope and drainage, wind speed, but also customer requirements, legal requirements, environment, health and safety: She has to take all these aspects into account in her planning. Last but not least, robust access roads and access ways for construction vehicles, material delivery and operational management are needed for the entire life of the solar farms. Beverly and her team plan a site so that a PV project can be built on it.
As a woman, Beverly first had to assert herself in the male-dominated world of engineering and construction. She completed her studies with many women. She then took her first job with a company in the renewable energy sector. "At the time, it was 'cool' to work in this industry because we weren't just doing it for our paychecks, we were doing something really meaningful with our work." Beverly was the only female engineer on the project management and construction team there. "I'm comparatively small, so working in a team with very experienced colleagues and partners, I first had to demonstrate that I wasn´t a student anymore and that I had the necessary skills to deliver great work. That was quite a challenge," she describes. Beverly grew into her role and gained a lot of experience. She has now reached senior civil engineer status, knows how to hold her own and enjoys working in male teams.
In 2017, she then joined JUWI. Here she had the opportunity to work more internationally and with other experts in the Philippines, Vietnam and Australia. She was also involved in the preliminary work for projects in other Southeast Asian countries and in South Africa.
Continuous development and lifelong learning are very important to me. After five years with JUWI in Manila, it was time for the next step.
The open-minded young woman loves traveling and the professional cooperation with people all over the world. She considers it a gift that JUWI offers her this opportunity. From Wörrstadt, she supports various projects in Europe and South Africa. In addition, she now works door to door with the managers whom she had previously met mainly virtually. She had some reservations about this, but they have long since been dispelled. She is enthusiastic about the working atmosphere: "We communicate directly and at eye level, despite the hierarchy. That's not common in other cultures and is a new experience for me. I'm learning to really appreciate that here."
Beverly definitely expected a culture shock. The step from Asia to the West is a big one. The international team in Wörrstadt helped her to categorize and understand how things work in Germany: looking over your shoulder despite the rearview mirror when driving, the restricted opening hours at the supermarket, the deposit return system, to name just a few. Colleagues also supported her on-site when she arrived in Germany, quite pragmatically with a carpool between her new home in Mainz and her office in Wörrstadt. And she was also prepared for bureaucratic hurdles. Beverly left her comfort zone. Now she is looking forward to new projects and thousands of opportunities.