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Incredibly grateful: Megan Armendariz A good attitude and honest effort are central to California engineer’s mission to build a meaningful career.

By RICHARD MASSEY Editor

M egan Armendariz is an engineer from Clovis, Califor- nia. A member of the team at TETER since 2014, the 29-year-old has a master’s in structural engineering from Stanford University. She married her prom date from high school, John Armendariz, who, like her, studied civil engi- neering at Fresno State. Her favorite movie is Remember the Titans , the last book she read is Everybody, Always by Bob Goff, and if she’s listening to the radio and hears an old Beach Boys song – or even something by a ‘90s boy band – that’s a good thing because it brings back fond childhood memories. If you ask her, she’ll tell you: Her parents gave her the self-belief she needed to be successful. A soccer en- thusiast who once considered going to school to become a veterinarian, Armendariz is one of those people who gives back to society. “Ultimately, I want to make the world, or at least someone’s world, better in whatever time I’m given,” she says. “I want to serve, love, and encourage as many people (or adorable animals) as I can.”

A CONVERSATION WITH MEGAN ARMENDARIZ. The Zweig Letter: What’s the best advice you can give to an architect or engineer at the beginning of their career? Megan Armendariz: Understand the “why” behind what you are doing. Ask questions to understand the purpose of whatever task you’re given and how it impacts the overall project. Whether you’re picking up red marks, or going out to a job site to observe how designs translate in the field, ask questions from the experts around you to better under- stand the reasoning behind the decisions that were made, so you will then be able to apply the best solution when you find yourself in a similar situation on a different project. However, more important than developing your technical knowledge, understand the “why” as it relates to why you do what you do every day. At the end of the day, what truly motivates you? Understanding this “why” will give you an intention and deeper purpose, and will motivate you to do the very best you can every day.

THE ZWEIG LETTER Mar

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