Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Kelly.
Hi Courtney, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. After Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, my family moved to Baton Rouge, where I continued my sophomore and subsequent years of high school. During these years, I attended STEM camps at Louisiana State University, Elmhurst College, and Worchester Polytechnic Institute. The idea of studying civil engineering began to stick as a way that I could learn the things that would help keep cities like New Orleans from experiencing the devastation of hurricanes and tropical storms.
In 2008, I enrolled at Southern Methodist University, majoring in civil engineering and math. Through the course of a few internships, I realized that construction management was my true passion. After graduating in 2012, I began working for a utility subcontractor in DFW and have worked for several construction companies since then. My projects have included projects at DFW and Love Field Airports, Southern Methodist University, HWY US 75, and DNT. I obtained a master’s degree in civil engineering with a concentration in structures from SMU in 2013, became a professional engineer in 2016, and obtained an MBA from Lamar University in 2021. I was also recently named to ENR Texas and Louisiana’s 2023 class of Top Young Professionals.
Over the course of my career, I have often been the only woman on a construction site, and in the case where there were other women, I was usually the only Black woman. Seeking to change this for the future, I decided to write a children’s book, Celeste Saves the City, to expose the next generation to the possibilities of a career in civil engineering and construction. The story follows my own in that after Celeste’s family evacuates from New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina, she declares that she will become a civil engineer and find a way to keep the city from flooding. Celeste employs the use of barrier islands to help restore and protect the coastal wetlands, a practice that is currently being used by New Orleans and other cities around the world.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This has been a road full of setbacks and detours, but things have worked out for the better at every step along the way. I first got the idea to write the book in 2017, and after bringing the manuscript to what I believed to be good enough, I sent it off to a few publishing companies only to be rejected. In the years that passed, I would often get a nudge to try to get the book out into the world again, but it wasn’t until 2020 that I really started to seriously figure out how to make it happen. I decided to self-publish, which has come with a steep learning curve. Some of the first hurdles were finding an illustrator and printing company, figuring out distribution, and finalizing the manuscript. Now that the book has been released, the struggles have changed to things like turning through every page of every book before it is sent to a customer to assure that the quality is consistent, booking and planning events, and increasing awareness for the book.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
For the past 10 years, I have specialized in the management of civil construction projects, which consists of roads, bridges, airports, and underground utilities. Most recently, I crossed over and managed a commercial construction project that involved the renovation of a 95-year-old building. When I am managing projects, my responsibility is really to ensure the health and safety of the project from both a physical and financial standpoint. The safety and well-being of the craft and trade partners performing the work is first and foremost. After that, my focus turns to keeping all parties involved in the project moving in the same direction to maintain the schedule and keep the project under budget.
Overall, I am most proud of having completed a project at SMU. 2022 marks the celebration of my 10-year graduation anniversary, and the project happened to be for the building where I first moved in when I started college in 2008. When I look back at everything that I’ve accomplished since then, I can’t help but be proud of myself and feel tremendously grateful for the journey that I have been on.
I think part of what sets me apart is my desire to seek to understand. This is the approach that I take regardless of whether it’s when I am trying to solve a really difficult situation on the jobsite or whether I am trying to develop a relationship with a client or coworker. I’m a bit of a nerd, so I find myself always chasing after more knowledge and looking for a puzzle to solve. When it comes to my interactions with people, by starting with this in mind, there is an underlying willingness to listen and allow others to be heard, which can help temper the most turbulent of situations.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Everything that I am today is the result of countless people who have helped me along the way. My family has always been my biggest source of support. Whenever I said I wanted to get another degree or write a book or travel the world, they have cheered me on. I also have great friends who have stuck by my side, even after I sent them countless messages while deciding on how my logo should look or whether the manuscript needed more tweaking. I have current and former coworkers who continuously uplift all the initiatives I am involved in and help to bring about change towards a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable architecture, engineering, and construction industry. In addition, there are many complete strangers who have graciously promoted my book, advocated on my behalf, and done things for me that I probably don’t even know about. Some may see what I do and think that it’s all just me, but in reality, it takes the help and support of all of these people and more to make it happen. Their steadfast encouragement has kept me going through all the pitfalls I have faced. They have also been with me to celebrate all the successes!
Pricing:
- Celeste Saves the City (Hardcover): $19.99
- Celeste Saves the City (Paperback): $9.99
- Celeste Saves the City (eBook): $9.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.courtneykellybooks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneykellybooks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/courtneykellybooks
