A ‘shock to the system’: Stacia's journey as a leader in the construction industry
Beginning her career in the construction industry, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science (FEAS) alumna, Stacia Van Zetten says that being a woman in this male-dominated field was a “shock to the system.” However, continuing to pursue her interest and curiosity for the subject, is what helped Van Zetten navigate her way through the systemic challenge.
“[Be] passionate about what you do, and people will see that,” said Van Zetten. “Also being really knowledgeable on the subject, whether you're male or female, that will make your life a lot easier [because] you can prove that you know what you're talking about.”
With her grandfather working as an architect, Van Zetten grew up around buildings, taking tours around the city and watching him work at his drafting table. Inspired by her grandfather's profession, Van Zetten decided to study architecture at the University of Toronto. However, after learning about the skeleton of buildings during class and being introduced to a professor at TMU, Van Zetten decided to switch her studies to structural engineering at FEAS.
After completing a 16-month placement with a general contractor during her time at TMU, Van Zetten returned to the company to do consultant-based work after graduating. While working on a project where temperatures need to be measured for concrete elements that were being poured, Van Zetten says she was exposed to the inefficiencies of the construction industry.
“I saw how much the project was going to pay to do very old school methods of basically putting a thermometer and reading it twice a day,” said Van Zetten. “It was a very reactive process, and it was very expensive to have a person drive back and forth to the site, twice a day.”
To make this task more efficient, Van Zetten wanted to create a system that allowed her to receive the concrete temperatures online. Today, Van Zetten’s initial idea has evolved into her being the co-founder of the construction monitoring company, EXACT Technology. As the Chief Strategy Officer, Van Zetten focuses her work on business development, while managing the sales team and connecting the construction industry to their new technology.
“It was a very difficult decision to make that leap to building a company,” said Van Zetten. “Thankfully I did, but the drive to do that was seeing how inefficient things are and wanting to make them better for sustainability and efficiency reasons, and optimizing processes.”
To FEAS students preparing for life after graduation, Van Zetten says to find what you like doing.
“No matter what it is, really go for it,” said Van Zetten. “It's about being passionate about something. You're not going to give 100 percent into something that you don't really like doing.”