Meet the BSK Staff

We’re excited to kick off this series by introducing you to Amy Blazer, one of our talented female engineers at BSK Associates! Amy brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our team. Get to know Amy and her journey with BSK Associates as we highlight our amazing staff every other week! Stay tuned for more introductions and behind-the-scenes looks at the faces behind our work.

Interviewer: Hi Amy! Can you tell me a little about where you are from. Where is your hometown and where did you go to school?

Amy: Yes. I was born in in Jiangmen, Guangdong, which is the southern part of China. My family moved to America in 2000 when I was about 3½ years old in hopes for a better future and achieving the American dream. Although I was born in China, I was raised in Bakersfield, and I have not moved anywhere since except for college. I went to Bakersfield high school for my high school years, and I graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2018 with my bachelor’s in civil engineering. Then, I was able to get my master’s in geotechnical engineering in 2020 before COVID shut down the college campus.

Interviewer: Wow, it sounds like you’re on your way to achieving that American dream! How long have you worked for BSK and what do you do for the organization?

Amy: I interned with BSK for 3 summers, and then I began officially working in 2019 while I was still finishing up my master’s degree. As of now, I have been with BSK for almost 5 years. I am currently a Project Professional I, and I handle majority of the report prepping and analysis at our branch. I still occasionally go out to mark sites or go drill to get samples, but lately I have been coordinating, directing, and training our staff more to be out in the field instead. I also help prepare proposals and oversee more projects from start to finish. I also occasionally help with Construction Services Division and Environmental when they need assistance and vice versa. I also assist with projects from other branches like Fresno or Livermore from time to time.

Interviewer: What do you enjoy the most about your job?

Amy: I love being able to be able to switch between working in the office and going out into the field to visit many different sites across California. This gives me the opportunity to visit cities I would have rarely thought to travel to or to access sites I would normally not be allowed on such as going in naval bases or on the runways of an airport. I also love that although our work typically covers the preconstruction portion of the projects, I still enjoy being able to recognize the projects I was a part of when I see them around town.

Within the company, I love having the opportunity to meet and connect with all the different people on the job and in the office. I enjoy various activities with coworkers like Christmas parties, bingo, trivia, and volunteering. Additionally, I was able to join IGE (Introduce a Girl to Engineering), the Bakersfield College board, and APWA (American Public Works Association) through BSK to help and inspire future engineers in the community.

Interviewer: That all sounds really fun! Can you tell us more about your favorite on the job story?

Amy: I experienced many different things on the job in the past 5 years at BSK, so I have some difficulty pinpointing a favorite story. Recently, I never thought I would have been excited to see a sinkhole in the middle of a road in Bakersfield. For one of our projects, we needed traffic control to close a lane on SR 204 to access a vibrating wire piezometer to collect groundwater data. However, due to the extended time needed to grant approval for our subcontracted traffic control company to be on site, we were quickly approaching the deadline for the quarterly sampling at that location. At the end of January, a sinkhole appeared on SR204 due to the recent rains, so Caltrans closed down access on the northbound lanes between F Street and the entrance to the 99 North. Coincidentally, the sinkhole appeared near the piezometer location, and we realized that we could technically access the piezometer without traffic control since Caltrans already closed the needed lanes. Luckily, I had already met with Caltrans to go over the permit prior; therefore, I was able to make a quick phone call with the Caltrans inspector to allow us onsite the same day we initially heard about the sinkhole. We were in and out before the sinkhole was fixed, and that allowed us to stay on track despite some initial setbacks.

 

Interviewer: Thank you so much for answering all these questions today. Can we leave off by you relaying some fun facts about yourself?

Amy: Sure. I am currently married to my high school sweetheart for about 2 years, but we have already been together for almost 10 years now. I enjoy drawing and creating art like the big chalk arts at Via Arte in the Marketplace or making Christmas cards in the past. Although I was raised in Bakersfield, my parents did make sure I could still converse in Chinese (specifically Cantonese) with them and educated me about my Chinese heritage and customs. In my down time, I enjoy reading webnovels/webtoons and reading/watching anime. I also like to bake occasionally and go all out during the holidays or for birthdays. Although I don’t travel much, I had the opportunity to visit Japan for week as my college graduation trip and got to swim with dolphins in Cancun on a different trip.

Interviewer: Thank you, Amy, for your time in this interview, and kicking off this effort to introduce the BSK team!

 

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