Faces of SGH: Anya LaRoche

Anya’s Key Stats:

• Joined SGH: 2016.
• Current role: Consulting Engineer, New York, NY.
• Education: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (B.S. in Civil Engineering).
• Always in my pocket: A ruler. I have a whole stash of measuring instruments at home—it’s always handy to know how big something is!
• Secret talent: Riding the unicycle.
• Pet: My cat, Alice, who I got during Covid. I love that she never looks serious because of her crooked ear.
• Currently reading: “Solito” by Javier Zamora.
• Professional goal: Getting my Passive House Certification.
• Introvert or extrovert: Quiet extrovert. I love being around people but am rarely the center of attention.

How’d you learn about SGH?

I went to school at the University of Michigan. SGH has done some project work there—mainly historic preservation—and one of the staff members came to lecture on their work. It was fascinating to learn about all the different types of work that I could potentially be involved in. I ultimately decided to join SGH’s New York City office because that’s where I grew up and I think the buildings in the city are the coolest.

What makes SGH unique?

Working at SGH has exposed me to an incredible variety of projects and introduced me to different technical concepts and skills. I often ask myself, “How do I tackle this?” and then I get to learn an entirely new approach to solving a problem. I focused mainly on new design projects at the beginning of my career, but now I’m exploring investigation and restoration projects, and I feel like I’m seeing a whole different side of engineering.

What was your first project?

Many of the teammates I started with were assigned to a wide variety of projects out of the gate. I started with a small task for the LaGuardia Airport renovation project, which eventually turned into the first six years of my career. (*Laughs*) I wasn’t expecting it to be such a big part of my experience, but that project taught me so much about curtain wall and roof design, and the construction process in general—I really poured a lot of my heart and soul into that project. Now, my friends and family always let me know when they fly through LGA and send me texts that say, “Your airport is great!!” My work there is nearly done, and I’m looking forward to exploring other types of projects.

Do you have a mentor at SGH?

Cheryl Saldanha in our New York office is someone I often look to for guidance as a senior woman and a technical expert. She’s so great at taking people under her wing and mentoring them in technical knowledge and soft skills. She gives me a lot of confidence to go out on my own and take ownership of what I’m working on. I hope I’m able to emulate a lot of what she taught me as I start to mentor younger staff members.

What’s the most rewarding part of your career?

I love watching things grow—both buildings and people. Engineering really allows you to get involved in a very tangible way. It’s so rewarding to take a building that’s not very functional and help transform it into an important piece of the community. I also love working with younger staff members and lifting them up in their careers. It’s fun to see my colleagues who came to us right out of school now out there running their own projects.

I also discovered that I enjoy building relationships with clients and educating them in the process. It’s fun working with people who want their buildings to meet higher performance goals that we can work on together. Collaborating directly with building owners is fulfilling since I can help them understand the issue and plan the best route to solve the problem. Maybe it’s a condo building that’s leaking or someone who needs a better understanding of their roofing structure—it’s great to teach that person so they can feel confident in the steps they’re taking to maintain their building. I’ve developed a few of these relationships and look forward to continuing to build my own team to support them.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen recently?

We have an intern in New York, Hanlin Wang, who loves Legos. I recently had him bring some to the office to help me with a team-building workshop I’m developing, and then on his own, he started to build standard building enclosure mock-ups. We now have a Lego-brick CMU wall assembly and a curtain wall assembly. He’s going to continue making models of our standard walls and will give a demonstration in the office so new hires and interns can study them. It reminded me that no matter what level you’re at in your career, you can bring something of true value to the company. People will take your ideas seriously and will appreciate the value that you add. Plus, it’s fun to play with Legos.