“Somewhere along the way I decided it was time to graduate into a “real” job, somewhere I wanted to be for a long period of time. When I heard about the job I only had a very basic understanding of HVAC, but I thought let’s just try, let’s just go for it, and I got it.”
—Katie Munson, Sr. Administrative Assistant
How long have you been with NWESI?
I started August of 2018, so just over 1.5 years now.
What is your current role?
I’m the Sr. Administrative Assistant, so I deal with a lot of incoming calls; I help the team with their reports—I’ll help compile them, enter data, and get it together before it goes out to clients; sometimes I send out quotes when the managers are busy. I also handle a lot of building requests—so if there’s anything in the building or office we need to take care of, I usually handle that. I really try to keep my eye out for things we can improve on—there’s a few company-wide changes happening soon that I’m really excited about, I’m hoping it’ll save everyone a bunch of time.
What kind of work did you do before coming to NWESI?
Before NWESI I worked in collections. Somewhere along the way I decided it was time to graduate into a “real” job, somewhere I wanted to be for a long period of time, even though I was at my last job for 7 years. You know, because collections—sometimes it’s better, sometimes it’s worse—so I wanted something more stable. I actually heard about the job from my best friend who happens to know Jewel [NWESI BD manager]. I had a very basic understanding of HVAC, but I thought let’s just try, let’s just go for it, and I got it.
The biggest thing I noticed was just how quiet it was here. In my last place it was only five of us in an open office, so we could hear each other’s conversations and it was always loud. Here, it’s a lot less intense: people are a lot more calm, and they’re more genuine. It was a huge change and something I’m very grateful for.
You’ve really helped focus NWESI’s office sustainability environment. Can you tell us more about that?
It was really Nancy who had it in place before I started. When I came in I knew the basics of sustainability, and I didn’t realize quite how many things you could recycle through basic recycling, and business recycling was a little bit different. There’s a lot of things I learned and got more interested in. What’s great is that everyone’s on board for it.
What aspects of your job do you most enjoy?
Everything. I think it’s great to have a mix of different duties from day-to-day. For me personally, I really like doing a bit of everything here and there so I wouldn’t say I have one favorite part.
What has been a personal or professional growth over the years?
I think just handling things. I’ve really grown as far as my capabilities in getting stuff done, my time management, and prioritizing tasks.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I’m actually really interested in shooting, and I like the outdoors. Camping, off-roading, just anything outside of the house is great. I spend a lot of time gardening too.
