Paige Bevilacqua
Engineering Technician/Construction Inspector
Kapur & Associates Inc.
Like many people, the pandemic forced Paige Bevilacqua to re-evaluate the course of her life.
She had been pursuing nursing, but the field seemed increasingly unstable as COVID-19 cases rose during the pandemic. Bevilacqua was interested in business management, but she wanted something more specific.
She knew a lot of people who worked in construction, a field that had always piqued her interest, so she enrolled in Gateway Technical College’s construction management program. Bevilacqua graduated this spring.
Entering a traditionally male-dominated field was daunting at first. Bevilacqua feared she wouldn’t be taken seriously, but she wanted to take the risk and challenge herself.
“I wanted to graduate because I wanted to be educated and respected when I did come out in the field,” Bevilacqua said. “You have to go in believing that you’re just like anyone else.”
So far, the crews that Bevilacqua has worked with have been extremely welcoming and supportive. She currently works out of Burlington as an engineering technician and construction inspector at Kapur & Associates, a consulting engineering firm based in Glendale. Bevilacqua is in charge of managing and inspecting sites. She works outside with the crew, making sure they use the correct materials and stay on schedule. In the office, she organizes and enters her inspection notes.
Bevilacqua’s job has changed the way she looks at the world. When she was a senior in high school, she figured her options for a career path were nursing or teaching.
“They don’t really talk about the trades in high school, and the trades are such an important building block for this whole world,” she said. “I’ll be driving down the road and I’m like ‘Oh, wow, look at that water main … a regular person would just see a ditch and not think about what’s actually under it.”
For Bevilacqua, it’s easy to pinpoint the best part of her job.
“Being able to drive by a site and know what it was to where it is now is so rewarding,” she said. “You know that you had a big part in making sure that job was complete.”
Best advice for someone interested in this line of work?
“Take that first leap and see where you go. I think you’d be really impressed with yourself and where you can take yourself.”
Best advice you ever got:
“I’ve been told by my instructors that I’m going to do really great things in this field. That’s always a nice thing to hear!”
What skill helps someone in your line of work be successful?
“Be a problem solver and an open minded, forward thinker.”
Seth Ehlers
Process & Controls Engineering Technician
Mercury Marine
When he was 20 years old, Seth Ehlers discovered what he wanted to do when he “grew up.” He started his first job in metal work right before the 2008 recession hit. Ehlers had never worked in metals before, but he was determined to learn, evolve and be the best he could be. Soon after, the company let go of 75% of the staff and kept him.
The company was short-staffed, so Ehlers went from department to department learning the ins and outs of each one, earning the nickname “the rover.” When the economy recovered and the staff grew, he was leading four departments. When Ehlers was put in charge of leading the design team of a multi-million-dollar machine, his passion for automation grew.
“I love figuring out how to make machines work. I have to learn everything about it, what I can adjust and what I need it to do,” Ehlers said. “With this, I learned it, took it over, and I flourished.”
Ehlers wanted a job in which his career could advance, leading him to Fond du Lac-based Mercury Marine. The company produces outboard engines, sterndrives and inboard engines. The position he wanted required a degree so, at 31, Ehlers decided to enroll at Moraine Park Technical College. He graduated in May from the Quality and Advanced Manufacturing Technology program and is currently a process and controls engineering technician at Mercury Marine.
Ehlers works with robots, a previously uncharted territory for him. He programs automated robotic cells that grind, buff and polish stainless steel propellers for Mercury Marine. The job is constantly evolving; he never gets bored.
“I’m addicted to the challenge. I don’t like standing there and pushing a button,” Ehlers said. “People joke and say the grass never grows under my feet because I’m always on the move.”
A typical day on the job could involve traveling to different plants to troubleshoot machinery, robotic applications or creating new programs by computer and by hand.
“Automation is a great career because there are so many facets like robotics, PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller) and networking. It’s always changing and challenging,” Ehlers said. “I want to figure out the things that nobody knows the answer to.”
Best advice you ever got:
“Taking that first step and getting your foot in the door to better yourself.”
A great lesson you’ve learned on the job:
“Don’t be afraid to stand out and do things differently. Just because everyone else does something a certain way doesn’t mean that’s the only way it can be done, much less the best way.”
What skill helps someone in your line of work be successful?
“Keeping an open mind and always asking ‘why.’ Questioning and scrutinizing everything, in both my work and personal life, has helped accelerate my learning and understanding of so much in my life, and it has conditioned my brain to think more creatively when faced with difficult problems.”
Kylee Thompson
Municipal Design Engineer Intern
Kapur & Associates Inc.
Kylee Thompson needed an elective class to fill her class schedule, so she decided to take a welding, drafting and print reading class. She loved everything about it, especially the design aspect. By her junior year of high school, she had taken every drafting course her school offered.
By senior year, Thompson was taking a few architecture courses at Gateway Technical College. She excelled particularly in math classes. Her professor took notice and asked her if she would consider transferring into the civil engineering technology program.
“Civil engineering was always just words I had heard growing up,” Thompson said. “I didn’t know what they did.”
Three months into her internship at Kapur & Associates, a Glendale-based consulting engineering firm, Thompson traded architecture for civil engineering.
At Kapur, Thompson is a municipal design engineer intern; she designs and plans the construction and maintenance of infrastructure projects. The job is anything but boring. Thompson has worked on designs for piping networks in water mains, parking lot expansions and – her personal favorite – road reconstructions.
“We had one project where we were boring under a state road and had to dig these 40-foot-deep trenches and then bore under it,” she said. “As someone who is a hands-on learner, my company has always been great with taking me to a site to go through it all so I can learn it that way, which makes it a lot easier to design it.”
The thing she loves most about her job is the journey to the finished product. From taking on an unfamiliar project and learning its ins and outs to knowing everything there is to know about it, Thompson appreciates the entire process.
“Seeing it go from nothing to developing into this project and knowing I worked on that is awesome,” she said.
Thompson plans to get her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Gateway and take the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam, which will allow her to become a licensed engineer and submit, seal and sign drawings and plans.
Best Advice For those considering this field?
“Connect with companies or colleges in your area and see if you can take a tour to give you a better idea of the career you’re interested in.”
What is the best advice you’ve received?
“It’s your life. You have to do what’s best for you.”
What skill helps someone in your line of work be successful?
“Communication. You’re going to be communicating with contractors, other engineers, different departments and clients. Also, a willingness to learn. You can’t come in expecting to know everything or be the best.”
Kristina Overocker
Medical-Surgical Nurse
Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital
Kristina Overocker began her career in health care in the early 2000s. After 9/11, she couldn’t fight the growing need to help people. This was coupled with a total lack of job security; Overocker had worked in the mortgage industry, which became less and less reliable following the terrorist attacks.
Before she was a registered nurse, Overocker was a certified nursing assistant at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital, where she still works today. Overocker graduated from Gateway Technical College’s nursing program in spring 2023 as a registered nurse.
“I got to a point where, with my family, I was stable enough to finish my goal of becoming a registered nurse and further my own educational goals,” Overocker said. “I chose Gateway partly because of affordability and partly for the reputation of the type and quality of the nurses that they produce.”
Overocker is a medical-surgical nurse, which means she focuses on caring for adults who are recovering from or getting ready for surgery. A typical day usually looks like this:
First, she’ll look through her patients’ files to preview the day ahead. After face-to-face introductions, her patients become her full priority.
“I move through my patients by taking care of who may be the most ill at that moment,” Overocker said. “Then, I work my way through the patients and make sure they get the absolute best care that they possibly can.”
The job requires a certain level of compassion and humanity that Overocker thrives on. She doesn’t do her job for herself. Making sure her patients get the health care they deserve is why she loves nursing.
“You have to understand that the person in front of you may be having the absolute worst day of their life, and you have to have empathy for that,” she said.
Overocker encourages anyone seriously interested in nursing to jump right in.
“Whether you work in a hospital, a nursing home or assisted living, it doesn’t matter,” she said. “Get your feet wet, know that it’s hard work and know you genuinely have to have a passion for it.”
Best advice you ever got:
“Not every day is going to be a good day. I try my hardest to make it the best day for my patients. I may come home some days knowing that it’s not necessarily the best day for me or for them, but we’re going to try and make the next day better.”
What skill helps someone in your line of work be successful?
“You have to have empathy, and you have to have compassion.”
Christina Gannon
Charge Nurse and PRN Nurse
The Bay at Burlington Health & Rehabilitation Center and Lincoln Lutheran
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Christina Gannon felt like she was missing something. For 10 years prior, she had worked in the restaurant industry, which had been upended by government-mandated shutdowns and capacity restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. With no money coming in, Gannon decided to sign up for nursing school. As it turned out, a career shift was what she needed.
After completing her prerequisite courses and becoming a certified nursing assistant (CAN), Gannon earned her licensed practical nursing diploma from Gateway Technical College in April 2023.
The process was long and, at times, difficult. She took the challenge head on, seeing it as an opportunity to better herself.
“We were in school for six hours a day, three times a week and the fourth day was a 12-hour clinical,” she said. “I probably spent 65 hours a week in physical class and working with my classmates on FaceTime … doing whatever we needed to do to be successful.”
Now, she works as a charge nurse at The Bay at Burlington Health & Rehabilitation Center in Burlington and as a pro re nata nurse, or PRN, at Lincoln Lutheran, a Racine-based senior living facility. As a PRN, she works for hospitals only when the need arises.
“As a CNA, I would just assist the nurse with bathing, vitals and a range of smaller things,” Gannon said. “Now as a nurse, I’m the go-to. My aides need me, social workers and doctors are calling me, and families want updates.”
Gannon is the first to admit that her job is a heavy load; however, she couldn’t be happier with it. As a charge nurse, she works alongside other nurses and supervises the unit to make sure everything runs smoothly. As a CNA, she checks vitals, supplies medication, manages feeding tubes, and assists patients with personal care needs.
“The most rewarding aspect is helping people when they’re not able to help themselves and doing it in a very compassionate manner,” she said. “It’s important to help the patients and my staff get through the crazy day and just remind everybody to provide the best care that we can while we’re there for the day.”
Best Advice?
“Advocate for yourself and utilize those teachers at school because I had some amazing instructors that still check in on me every week.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
“Never quit. Keep that chin up high even on dark days.”
What skill helps someone in your line of work be successful?
“Time management.”
Kelsea Mevis
Robotics programmer and technician
Exact Automation
Before she worked full time as a robotics programmer and technician, Kelsea Mevis, like many other high school students, was contemplating her future. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Did she want to go to college? Did she want to go to a technical school? One thing she knew was that she was interested in robotics.
Mevis, who has family members who work in the field, had always been curious about the ins and outs of robotics programming. Through Waukesha County Technical College’s dual enrollment program for high school students, Mevis was able to decide if a career in robotics was for her. In May, Mevis graduated with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Automation Systems Technology from WCTC with honors. She also received certifications in Programmable Logic Controllers programming.
While studying at WCTC, Mevis started working as an intern for Exact Automation, a Franklin-based robotics system integrator. She would work during the day and go to class at night. Eventually, she worked her way to a full-time position.
“It was a good time for me to learn the field, participate in an assembly and understand the nuances of everything,” Mevis said. “As I progressed through school, I became more and more useful with the skills I learned, and I moved into robot programming as my main skill and developed that outside of school, too.”
At Exact Automation, Mevis does both service and project work. Every workday is different. One day, she’s programming and building the automation systems in-house. Another day, she’s packing up her tools and laptop for a service call or installation.
“With traveling, it’s great because I’m young and I don’t have a house or a family that I have to take care of,” she said. “It’s a good thing for me to do to further my career.”
What Mevis loves most about her job, though, is the constant challenge and teamwork. Facing a problem, finding a solution and giving customers what they need is endlessly rewarding.
“You really have to know your team, trust your team and work well together,” Mevis said. “We work alongside each other all day, so it’s rewarding when the whole team gets the job done together.”
Best advice for someone interested in this line of work?
“Having flexibility for traveling is huge for employers because it’s harder to find people who are willing to do that. If you put in that time, get experience and learn a lot, it pays off in the end.”