Menard Canada Spotlight
New Hire: From Intern to Project Engineer – Usmaara Idrees
Usmaara started out as a summer intern here at Menard Canada, returning each year for the last two years. She quickly grabbed everyone’s attention with her keen attention to detail and excellent understanding of the principles of foundation design and the geotechnical field as a whole. Working mainly out of our Hamilton location, she quickly became recognized as an integral part of the team.
Now, we are excited to say that Usmaara is officially an employee of Menard Canada, and we couldn’t be happier to have her as part of our team. In her new role, she will be putting the many courses she took at the Faculty of Engineering, McMaster University, that included Foundation Design, Steel Design, and Bridge Design (to name just a few), to work, handling our many projects as a Project Engineer.
When asked, “What advice would you give other’s coming into the industry, Usmaara had this to say, “Be willing to be outside of your comfort zone, whether it’s on-site or otherwise, be willing to be open to new concepts, ideas, and even constructive criticism, it’s all about your willingness to learn from those around you.” She also had this to say when asked, “what made you want to work for Menard Canada?”. It’s all about the people, the staff that were willing to mentor me in a kind, patient, and caring way; those people are the ones that convinced me that this was the kind of company I wanted to work for and the kind of people that I wanted to work with”.
Born in Pakistan, Usmaara’s family emigrated here when she was six years old. Whenever she gets the chance, she stays connected to back home by cooking Pakistani dishes for her friends and family. She also enjoys honing her kitchen skills by experimenting with other types of culturally rich international cuisine.
Although the last five years have been spent hard at work, both in school and summer internships, Usmaara loves trying out new restaurants or relaxing with a good book.
Please join us in welcoming Usmaara to the team!
At Menard Canada, we pride ourselves on having a robust internship program that allows students and others to learn more about the industry and themselves as part of our team, explore career options, get quality mentorship from industry professionals, and gain a deeper understanding of their studies with hands-on experience and to build their network through paid internships. If you, or someone you know, would like to connect with us about an internship, please visit our Join Us page.
