Faces of synergi: meet fatima campbell

Each of our individual skills, interests and life experiences create the synergies that drive our company forward.

Meet Synergi Assistant Project Manager, Fatima Campbell!

What attracted you to the construction industry?

The career path chose me. I have an artistic and technology heavy background and have dealt with manufacturing, processes and project management. After leaving a field in bio-sciences I was given the opportunity to work in project management with a glass company, which proved to be similar in the process when dealing with the life cycle of a project. This was also an opportunity to learn a new trade where I realized it would be an opportunity to work in an industry that allows me to be hands on, challenging and break the stereotype that women don’t work in construction. I haven’t looked back since.

Favorite building in the world?

That’s tough. I would say it is a tie between Angkor Wat, the Eiffel Tower and the Egyptian Pyramids because of the ingenuity, engineering miracles and work it took to create these masterpieces.

This is historically a male dominated industry. Do you have any advice for women pursuing a career in construction?

I think women should not fear what is seen to be a male dominated field. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2018 women make up almost 10% of the construction industry with the trend only going upwards. I believe that the industry is hard to break into, but there are so many women in leadership positions that show it is possible. I advise women to pursue a career that excites them and look for a place in this industry. Construction ranges from office work to the field and the skill sets are so varied that there is a place for everyone. You can come into this industry as a lawyer or a glazier and know there are huge networks out there for you to find mentorships and allies in your career path. Just remember that hard work and discipline are the greatest equalizer and through that all things are possible.

Who is your biggest role model and how have they influenced your life? 

My mother because she showed me that no matter what life gives you, through hard work and perseverance you literally can change everything and anything. As a single immigrant mother whose life was turned upside down through a civil war and immediate poverty, she sacrificed everything for my siblings and myself. No matter what was in her way, she proved that she could rise above it, go through it, around it and beyond it. She is my inspiration and my guiding light. If it were not for watching her go into a field where she overcame the hardships of being a female, a minority and an immigrant I do not think I would have stuck it out in the construction industry. Through her positivity and encouragement, I am always filled with the confidence that I am a conqueror born to succeed.

 Any hidden or surprising talents most people wouldn’t guess you possess?

I play the flute, oboe and piccolo; I shoot fashion and contemporary portraiture, I love making art every weekend and I like to spar Muay Thai style.