Ingenious Women: Yiru Wang

"I really hesitated between the health and engineering sectors. I like interacting with people, I’m proactive and I enjoy reflecting and finding solutions, so I was interested in both. But I wanted a career filled with many opportunities that would surprise me. The engineering field just seemed to offer me more.

Mechanical engineering is a key part of numerous projects, which gives us the chance to coordinate efforts with many other disciplines. I find this really exciting because it means I keep learning new things.

I’ve taken on several opportunities to work on site, and it’s very complementary to what I do at the office. They both feed off each other, making it possible for me to develop my skills very quickly. I remember one day that was particularly demanding when we were finishing up a long conveyor belt. I walked in my big boots from one team to the next for hours on end, working out the final details. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, but I felt immense pride at having successfully accomplished this work.

BBA’s corporate culture is incredible! As a young engineer, I’m encouraged to discover what I love. Of course, everything’s in place to help employees develop to the best of their potential, but it’s also based on what they want to pursue. Our more experienced colleagues freely answer questions, share their knowledge and are open to listening and having discussions. This creates a rich, inspiring and respectful work environment, which certainly comes through in our projects.

Today, five years after graduating at McGill University, I'm a project leader and team leader, which allows me to mentor and guide prospective engineers as they discover our profession. I was quickly attracted to these roles because I like working on a team, I communicate clearly, and I can easily coordinate a project with various stakeholders. I especially like to be able to see the big picture to help ensure project success.

BBA has trusted in me whenever I've wanted to take on a new challenge. I can put forward ideas, fine-tune my training, come up with a career plan to match my ambitions... In other words, I feel like I'm the only one who's limiting myself, and that's very exciting!"