Harper Talks Episode 53 - Kiara Trejo
As the construction manager leading the work on Harper’s new Canning Student Center, alumna Kiara Trejo shares her full circle journey from Harper College to IIT to her current role at Ardmore Roderick. She discusses breaking barriers as a Latina in a male-dominated field, the value of hands-on learning, and how networking opened unexpected doors, including her return to Harper. Kiara offers insight into career growth and why stepping outside your comfort zone can change everything.
Harper Talks: The Alumni Podcast
Show 53: -- Harper Talks -- Kiara Trejo
[00:00:01.300] - Brian Shelton
I'm Brian Shelton, and you're listening to Harper Talks, a co-production of Harper
College Alumni Relations and Harper Radio. Today on Harper Talks, I'm excited to speak
with Kiara Trejo. Kiara is a 2011 graduate of Harper College and currently works as
a construction manager for Ardmore Roderick, which has brought her back to the Harper
campus to work on the Canning Center. Kiara and I met in the podcast lab in Building
D. Thanks for being here.
[00:00:26.520] - Kiara Trejo
Hey, thank you for having me. I'm very excited to be here.
[00:00:29.100] - Brian Shelton
Yeah. How's your day going? How's the construction project going? We'll get into that
later.
[00:00:32.330] - Kiara Trejo
But yeah, no, so far so good. Uh, my day today has consisted of me being actually
there at the construction project. Yeah.
[00:00:38.410] - Brian Shelton
So you were able to walk over to the podcast lab?
[00:00:40.740] - Kiara Trejo
Oh, it was really easy. Just one, two-minute walk from the trailer. So yeah, no problem
at all.
[00:00:46.160] - Brian Shelton
Very cool. I want to talk about the Canning Center in a minute, but, uh, you were
a Harper student from, uh, 2009 to 2011 majoring in architectural and building sciences
technology.
[00:00:55.210] - Kiara Trejo
That's correct.
[00:00:55.530] - Brian Shelton
Something I would not major in, but thank you very much. Yeah, uh, how'd you come
to that? Like, how was that? Like, is that a desire to design, manage? What, what's
going on?
[00:01:04.730] - Kiara Trejo
I mean, honestly, like, ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to do— I want to get
into a career that was challenging. And, um, growing up, I always loved math, and
I loved— I'm not designing per se, but drawing, um, you know, more in the arts department.
So when I was in high school, um, I still kind of was— iffy... didn't know what I
want to get into, I actually moved from Mexico here. I was born and raised in Chicago,
and when I was 14, my, my family decided, hey, let's move to Mexico. So over there
I did half of my high school career, came back here, finished my high school career
here, and then I, I had some friends that were in an architecture club at high school.
And I would see the plans, the blueprints, and all of that, and I— it really intrigued
me. So I decided to go for it, and I joined the club, and, um, I really loved it.
And so obviously it was a very, very beginning of that part, but, um, then that's
when I decided— well, just being here 2 years of high school and then having to go
straight into college, I had no idea what— where I wanted to go, right?
[00:02:26.070] - Kiara Trejo
I didn't know anything about any of the universities in Illinois or anything like
that. Um, so I did hear about community colleges and how that was also a really good
option to go into right after high school. So I did some research on that, um, and
then I— that's how I landed in Harper.
[00:02:45.440] - Brian Shelton
That's cool.
[00:02:46.080] - Kiara Trejo
So yeah, and then I found out they had an architecture program, a whole department
actually, and I was That was really exciting. So then I knew this is definitely the
next step for me.
[00:02:56.720] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, it's so great when you find something that really like trips your brain, right?
Makes you want to go into this.
[00:03:01.300] - Kiara Trejo
Yeah. Oh my gosh. It just felt right. It felt right. And then I did my visit and I
loved it. It's such a big community college. You know, everyone thinks community college
is something almost as inferior to going to a 4-year university, but it definitely
did not feel that way coming here.
[00:03:20.310] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, for sure. You walked over here from the Canning Center construction project.
I was curious, how has campus changed since you were here, 2009, 2011?
[00:03:31.280] - Kiara Trejo
Oh my gosh, a lot. Yeah, a lot. I mean, when I honestly first coming back to Harper,
I haven't come back since I graduated from here. So in that time, I definitely missed
a lot of changes that were happening here. Um, Building D, I mean, let's just go there.
That's a whole new building. It's completely redone, you know. Um, and now there's
a Starbucks here, and it's, it's just amazing. Um, and I see there's a lot of like
new buildings also. It's not just the Canning Center, but there's also other buildings
that are being constructed now and to provide just, you know, more programs and more
classrooms for the, for the students. I think it's amazing, but it's, it's, it's amazing
changes that have happened.
[00:04:27.340] - Brian Shelton
Yeah. So not only education, but Harper's kind of played an outsized role in your
life. Didn't you meet your husband here?
[00:04:33.530] - Kiara Trejo
Yes. Oh my gosh, it's so funny you bring that up. But yeah, I— and that's one of the
honestly, things that I loved about coming back and doing a project here is going
down memory lane. So we had actually, um, friends that are in common. Now, he went
to a different high school than I did.
[00:04:51.980] - Brian Shelton
Okay.
[00:04:52.680] - Kiara Trejo
Um, and so we didn't meet in high school, but when we came to Harper, we had some
of the same similar friends. And so our friends would get together during lunch, and
he would be in that group, and I would be in that group, and then we just started
talking. And it started, you know, he would take me he would take— walk me to my class,
you know, things like that. Um, but then it, yeah, it definitely grew into something.
And now, you know, he's my husband and we got two beautiful children together.
[00:05:21.570] - Brian Shelton
So that's really cool.
[00:05:22.770] - Kiara Trejo
Yeah, it's really cool. I always send him photos like, hey, remember this spot? Remember
when we used to hang out here? Because we would have lunch right there at, uh, um,
Building A, uh, cafeteria. And, uh, I would send him photos and he's like, wow, that's
so insane that you're back. I'm like, I know.
[00:05:40.610] - Brian Shelton
That's fantastic.
[00:05:41.750] - Kiara Trejo
It is. I love it.
[00:05:43.670] - Brian Shelton
So from Harper, you went to IIT for both a bachelor's and a master's degree. Did we
do a good job preparing you for that? That's a tough school.
[00:05:52.890] - Kiara Trejo
Yes. Oh my gosh. Yes. Honestly, Harper definitely did. I mean, Harper, you know, they
taught me a lot of the basics to get me started, which was great. And I did get the
option when I transferred to IIT, they gave me the option to start as a second year
student instead of a first year. But they did tell me that it was going to be very
complex because architecture, you know, the career itself is very complex career.
And they did give me the option. So I said, you know what, I'm not in no rush to graduate.
I could definitely do the one year if that's what they think that it'd be best for
me. Now, coming to Harper, I was able to get a lot of the like core gen ed classes
out of the way. Um, so they were able to take a lot of those classes, which was great.
But I didn't— I felt confident starting at IIT as an architecture program because
I was not at zero. I knew a little bit of AutoCAD. I knew a little bit of, you know,
3D modeling and even building models, um, out of scrap.
[00:07:00.460] - Kiara Trejo
So no, it definitely did prepare me. For, for the career at IIT.
[00:07:05.370] - Brian Shelton
I was curious, um, you started architecture and then moved to construction management,
which are very related and, you know, together. But how did you go from architecture,
from like the design aspect of, of construction, to construction management, actually
managing the projects? And I guess tell us what really a construction manager does,
maybe in addition to that. If not— big questions.
[00:07:24.590] - Kiara Trejo
Yeah, big question.
[00:07:25.390] - Brian Shelton
Yeah.
[00:07:25.660] - Kiara Trejo
Okay, so, um, so I'm gonna start off with— I like, I never even knew about like the
construction management side when I, when I joined this architecture club in high
school. Even coming to Harper, all I saw was like the design part of it. Now, I did
take at Harper— I did take a class. They had us do a project where we would go into
a construction site, if they allowed us in, and to document the progress of a building.
So I did it for a residential townhome in Chicago, and I took— you take photos and
you create like this almost like a, like a like a progress binder for the class, and
that was like the, the final grade. I loved doing that. I loved being on the field
and seeing the progress of construction. Luckily, I was able to meet people there,
and they would allow me to come in, um, and take photos. Um, but anyway, so going
into IIT, you know, they told us, hey, we think it is also very important for you
guys to be able to explore minors, right? So you could still be doing architecture,
but if you have a minor in business, structures, construction management, like, it
will give you, um, like, they'll open more doors for you, right?
[00:08:43.620] - Brian Shelton
Diversify your portfolio, give you more opportunity.
[00:08:46.270] - Kiara Trejo
Exactly. And so I looked into all of it because I, I really was between business and
construction management, but then I, I really— that's when I started doing research
on construction management. Not a lot of people did that. They went into business
or structures. But then I was like, what is construction management? And so I did
my research and it's really— you're, you're managing like itself, like what it says,
you're managing the construction of a project. So you are on the field at all times
for the progress. You're documenting, you're overseeing it, you're making sure that
everyone is following what's on the documents are being designed by the architect.
So it's the other side. And now you're also representing the owner and make— because
the owner, you know, they'll fund you. Sometimes they'll fund the project and sometimes
they're very involved. Sometimes they're not very involved, right? And that's why
they hire construction managers so that the construction manager is sort of like their
eyes to make sure, you know, that everything is going accordingly. And so I you know,
doing, looking into that. And I'm like, wow, that's, that's exactly what I want to
do.
[00:09:57.430] - Kiara Trejo
I don't want to just be like behind a computer doing design work all day, every day,
but I also want to be on the field and tracking all of the progress. So I was like,
why not? I think that'll be, that'll be good hand in hand. I'll know not only design,
but understand the construction aspect. Um, and that's how I started. I started taking
a minor in construction management. Um, And then I developed that into a dual degree
and obtained my master's degree in that.
[00:10:26.720] - Brian Shelton
So that's really cool.
[00:10:27.920] - Kiara Trejo
Yeah.
[00:10:28.300] - Brian Shelton
Yeah.
[00:10:28.640] - Kiara Trejo
It was a great opportunity. Yeah.
[00:10:30.170] - Brian Shelton
Are there, are there a lot of Latina women working in construction management? I mean,
do you run across a lot of—
[00:10:35.540] - Kiara Trejo
No, honestly, unfortunately, I would say no, I don't. I've been in the construction
industry now for 8 years. Before that, I was just doing architecture. And in every
single project, I mean, not even like in management, not as like construction workers
or anything like that, do you really see women, period, at all.
[00:11:02.240] - Brian Shelton
Yeah.
[00:11:02.720] - Kiara Trejo
And then to further, you know, look into Latina women, you really don't see that.
And so I think in these projects, maybe I met— I mean, I can count in like 10 fingers.
[00:11:18.530] - Brian Shelton
Yeah.
[00:11:19.090] - Kiara Trejo
Um, and, and the company that I currently work for, they're very diverse. Uh, they're
very diverse. And so, um, and even then, there's still not a lot of Latina women.
Um, and that's— and I'm here also like to try to, you know, I know it is a challenging
industry and you do I mean, as a woman, you do get a lot of challenges because of
that. Even being in the construction field, it's just not dominated by men.
[00:11:51.270] - Brian Shelton
It's a male-dominated industry, right? And so you're kind of fighting that battle.
[00:11:55.120] - Kiara Trejo
Yeah, 100%. Every day. Yeah, every day. But you know what? I think it's important
also to be that person, to be doing that for other generations. Just hoping to inspire.
Yeah, you know.
[00:12:09.320] - Brian Shelton
Yeah. Have you— I don't want to put you on the spot, but have you done anything for
like recruiting other women into the industry, or is that something you would be interested
in doing in the future?
[00:12:16.860] - Kiara Trejo
Oh, definitely. Um, right now currently most of my volunteer work comes through my
company, and it's mostly, um, we do like Habitat for Humanity or Metro Chicago, and
then we go and help. We assist in families that need any type of you know, construction
help in their homes.
[00:12:39.420] - Brian Shelton
Yeah.
[00:12:39.820] - Kiara Trejo
Um, and so, and I've also volunteered for, um, we have a, a, a relationship with a,
an elementary school in the South Side of Chicago. Um, and then we go and volunteer
and, and we do like STEM activities with the kids. Yeah. And just try to kind of involve
them and so that they can see what, what they can be. Right. You know, when they're,
when, when they're all grown up. Um, but I definitely, I did, I was asking, hear the
Alumni Association at Harper, if they have a mentorship program, I would be so open
for that. Like I said, it's, it's just important to, to be that person for someone
else. And thankfully I had good mentors, you know, throughout my career. And so I
would like to be that for someone.
[00:13:31.860] - Brian Shelton
That's really great. Yeah. A lot of times in industries you know, if you don't see
somebody like you in that industry, you don't know that that's available to you, right?
[00:13:41.430] - Kiara Trejo
You can't picture it.
[00:13:42.420] - Brian Shelton
Yeah. So you just being there is a big difference, right?
[00:13:45.550] - Kiara Trejo
So I agree.
[00:13:46.650] - Brian Shelton
That's really cool. That's nice. So you talked about what construction management
is. Right now you are working on the Harper Campus at the Canning Center. Without
giving anything away to get you in trouble at work or anything, how's that going?
I have a vested interest in that building. So how's that going?
[00:14:05.790] - Kiara Trejo
Honestly? Right now, you know, we're progressing even though we have so many hurdles
with the weather. But we are in the Midwest and we understood that from the get-go.
We're going to have some challenges with the weather. And even then, we have been
able to move forward. Right now, you know, obviously we've— you have the beautiful
steel structure up and we're starting to get the roof installed. So that's really
exciting. We have all our mechanical, electrical, plumbing, all of the workers there.
And then we're doing all of the floors now. So we're progressing really nicely. Yeah,
I'm very excited about it. And I'm excited for the staff and the students to be able
to enjoy it once it's opened.
[00:14:55.560] - Brian Shelton
When do you think? What's the—
[00:14:58.000] - Kiara Trejo
So we're aiming— to turn the building over to Harper beginning of next year, 2027.
And then hopefully they will able to open it to the staff and the students by next
summer. That's, well, 2 summers from now. That's the hope. Hopefully it goes right.
Yeah.
[00:15:20.430] - Brian Shelton
But I'll get in trouble for saying this, but when I started here at Harper in 2014,
because running the radio station out of Building A and they're like, well, don't
do anything to the radio station because we're moving into the Canning Center in 2
years. And I'm like, oh, okay.
[00:15:29.880] - Kiara Trejo
Oh, that's right. We do. Yes, that is correct. No, they're not buffing you. No, we,
we do have a— and I think, I believe it's on the second floor, there is a media area.
[00:15:42.790] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, yeah. No, we're moving in there now. It's just that we were supposed to move
in there in 2016.
[00:15:46.190] - Kiara Trejo
Oh, I see. Oh, it took a little bit longer. Yeah, just 10 years.
[00:15:51.390] - Brian Shelton
But so when everybody says, oh, we're moving the Canning Center, I'm always like,
yeah, yeah, sure, sure.
[00:15:55.420] - Kiara Trejo
But now you actually see the building, so.
[00:15:57.460] - Brian Shelton
Oh well, you know.
[00:15:59.060] - Kiara Trejo
Yeah, so at least, hey, there's— it's something groundbreaking. So no, you'll, you'll
be in hopefully in the next year.
[00:16:05.510] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, it looks great. I've been watching it come up, and you know, every time I go
through Building A, you're able to look out the windows there and see the construction
happening, and it's pretty exciting.
[00:16:13.180] - Kiara Trejo
No, it's very active right now.
[00:16:15.100] - Brian Shelton
The steel went up really quick.
[00:16:16.620] - Kiara Trejo
Oh my gosh, we were all like, wow, that was fast. I mean, sometimes they had, you
know, between 15 and 20 people working on steel work itself, so, um, it— they moved
pretty fast through the phases. Yeah. Yes.
[00:16:30.640] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, my dad was in the steel industry, so watching that go up was pretty cool for
me.
[00:16:33.270] - Kiara Trejo
Oh, that's awesome. I I love that. Yeah.
[00:16:37.020] - Brian Shelton
So I ask everybody who comes in one last question, and that is, what advice do you
have for current Harper students? If you could sit down with a group of Harper students,
what would you like to— what would you like to share with them?
[00:16:50.480] - Kiara Trejo
Oh my gosh, there's so much, to be honest. And I just— it makes me think back to the
years I was a Harper student, because sometimes you feel like what you're aiming for
and like the future, it's sometimes it feels like you're never gonna get there. Yeah.
And sometimes it feels like it's just too big of a goal for you, you know. Um, I had
that, you know, being here. And it's not because of, you know, that I came to community
college and I didn't go to a 4-year university, not, not at all. But it's just I think
the mindset that you're in as a college student, it just feels so overwhelming. Because,
and there's a lot of students that are not only just coming to college, but they're
also working full-time or part-time or whatever. They have other things going on in
their life. So it does feel very overwhelming. But what I do want to say, well, there's
two things. The first thing I think that's very important is like, you will get there.
Yeah. Like, I, like, you know, you're aiming and aim high and you will get there.
And one day you're going to look back and I know it's so cliché to say because so
many people told me this and I was like, yeah, yeah, everyone says this, but honestly,
Like one day you will be there and you're gonna talk, you're gonna, you're gonna think
to yourself, wow, like I really made it.
[00:18:04.700] - Kiara Trejo
You know what I mean? Like I got to where I wanted to be. And maybe you're not fully
there yet because there's always bigger and better goals as, as you move through your
career. But you'll know, like you'll know and you'll be like, wow, I, I did all of
that and it, it all paid off. So that's number one. Number 2 is networking, because
that's a, that's a big thing that I wasn't even aware of. Um, and, and in Harper College,
I know they give, give, they provide a lot of resources for, for students, and, and
sometimes students don't take advantage of them because they don't, they, they just
think, okay, school, and then whatever else they have going on in personal lives.
But it starts now. Um, use those resources. You know, if there's any events or, you
know, that they're inviting students to that you can be a part of, do it. Sign up,
do it. You never know who you'll meet and you'll never know where that will lead you
to. It will open so many opportunities for you. And I can really say that. And even
then, and this, and use this throughout college, right?
[00:19:14.440] - Kiara Trejo
So even if you're a Harper, you go to, you plan to transfer or you're in trade school,
whatever it may be. Just make sure that you, you put yourself out there. I know sometimes
it can be a little uncomfortable. I get it, especially, you know, you're starting
off your career, you're fresh out of high school. Um, I get it, but, but do it. Uh,
make, you know, step out of your box, step out of your comfort zone. Go meet people,
go talk to people, get their cards. They will one day maybe be able to provide an
internship that you really want or the job that you really want. Like, you just never
know. And even now, like having a full-time job and being in my career, um, it's still
very important to, to network.
[00:19:57.130] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, you've got to network, you got to meet people, you gotta—
[00:19:59.520] - Kiara Trejo
Oh, 100%. And honestly, the only reason why I even, uh, was able to be a part of this
project here at Harper was because I, you know, the vice president of my company was
talking about what everyone in, in the department was doing. And Harper College came
up, and I was like, oh, that sounds so awesome. There's— we're partaking in a project
here at Harper College. I kind of want to go see it. I didn't think I would be a part
of it. Um, and then I did this event with my company. We do the corporate challenge.
Um, we, we do the 5K corporate challenge in the city of Chicago, um, every May. And
last year I went to it, and there was someone there from my company, because we have
about 300 people in our company, so there's always new people you're meeting. He talked—
he was mentioning like, uh, that he was here at the Harper College and overseeing
the construction activities. And I was like, oh wow, that's awesome. I, I went to
Harper College. I would like it if you one day you can like show me around. I would
love to just go check it out.
[00:21:04.340] - Kiara Trejo
He said, actually, we're looking for someone that, that could take this role as, you
know, being advisor to construction management and, and oversee the project. And I
was are you saying like I, I can get this part? They're like, yeah, let me talk to
some people. I was like, that's awesome. And then that's, that's how I landed it.
[00:21:23.550] - Brian Shelton
That's great.
[00:21:23.950] - Kiara Trejo
So again, it's just through networking. Like, get out of your comfort zone and, and
go talk to people.
[00:21:28.660] - Brian Shelton
Talk to people, mention things, bring it up.
[00:21:30.240] - Kiara Trejo
Yeah, you just never know.
[00:21:31.990] - Brian Shelton
I had a student who came to visit me last week, uh, she's doing an internship in LA,
and I said, do you know that so-and-so is in LA doing an internship right now too?
And she's like, I didn't know she was there. And so now they're meeting up this week
in LA, and I'm like, awesome, these two are gonna wind up getting each other jobs.
[00:21:48.170] - Kiara Trejo
It's gonna be great. Oh my gosh, that's what I'm saying. Like, use each other, you
know, use these opportunities. They'll open doors.
[00:21:54.780] - Brian Shelton
And don't think of it as using, right?
[00:21:57.430] - Kiara Trejo
Right.
[00:21:57.750] - Brian Shelton
No, no, I got you. Yeah, I'm with you. Yeah, but I think a lot of people when they
think about networking, they think about it that it sounds kind of slimy, you know?
[00:22:03.940] - Kiara Trejo
No. Not at all.
[00:22:04.500] - Brian Shelton
And it's not, right?
[00:22:05.240] - Brian Shelton
You've got it. You're making genuine connections with people and you're not using
them.
[00:22:09.340] - Kiara Trejo
No, that's correct. Correct. You will build relationships that are very important.
Um, and, and sometimes you'll be able to help others, and sometimes they'll be able
to help you, you know. It's all about lending a hand. Yeah, yeah.
[00:22:21.000] - Brian Shelton
I have a student from back in like 2001, 2002, and he's always working in the film
industry. And whenever I have a student who's working somewhere where he is, I'll
call him up and I'll be like, I have a student who's there, can you meet them for
coffee or something? And he's like, oh yeah, yeah, I'll meet them. And we never see
each other otherwise, right? He's, he's all over the country doing his thing. But
it's like, it's great, you know, to have that network and to be able to help other
people out, you know.
[00:22:41.330] - Kiara Trejo
Well, I mean, if If you guys have any students that are going into architecture or
construction management, send them my way. I'd be more than happy to spend an hour
with them and just talk about, you know, the career, and they can ask me any questions.
[00:22:54.950] - Brian Shelton
That's fantastic. Thanks for being here. I appreciate it.
[00:22:56.900] - Kiara Trejo
Of course. Thank you for having me. Honestly, it's been really fun.
[00:23:00.090] - Brian Shelton
That's cool. Great. Great for having. Thank you. Thank you. Kiara Trejo is a graduate
of Harper College currently managing the construction of our new student center. If
you're enjoying Harper Talks, please subscribe, and while you're at it, rate and review
us so that others might find us. Harper Talks is a co-production of Harper College
Alumni Relations and Harper Radio. Our show is produced by Shannon Hynes. This episode
was edited by Coby Pozo. Our online content producer is Blue Bailey. Our theme music
was created by Aiden Cashman. I'm Brian Shelton. Thanks for listening.