Mike Rookstool, LEED AP

Culture:

The company understands that everyone has a different personal schedule and allows for a flexible work schedule to balance work and life. I enjoy being outdoors and playing sports⎯basketball, football, mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, skiing⎯and there is access to all of these things near San Francisco. I can take a few hours off in the middle of the day to play basketball or for a volunteer activity, show up at lunchtime after a morning mountain bike ride, or decide to take off and ski on a fresh snow day. Degenkolb encourages us to enjoy our time outside of work by providing access to company vacation cabins at the beach or in the mountains, and also sponsors a company softball team.

Career:

After spending the summer in Texas, I started with Degenkolb in San Francisco, ready for the more mild weather. When I started I was informed I would be traveling to Arizona and 100-degree heat on my third day of work for a project. In my first few years, in addition to that project, I worked on design or consulting projects in New York, Maryland, Washington D.C., Oregon, Washington, and Puerto Rico.

I also serve on the Board of Directors for the Engineer’s Alliance for the Arts, which is a non-profit organization that sends volunteers into area high schools to teach basic engineering concepts and hold a model bridge competition. The students have fun, learn teamwork and maybe some engineering, and we possibly have an impact on some of the students that will consider studying engineering or architecture.

Passion:

The best part of being an engineer is the ability to use your judgment to solve a problem. Going beyond the building code and calculations, and just thinking about what is a good way or what is a better way to get something built.

On the job:

The first thing I do when I arrive at work is check my fantasy football team…I mean check my early morning emails. We designed two large hotels that are under construction in Puerto Rico, and they have already been working for a few hours by the time I get to the office so there are usually questions or changes⎯yes I know it is under construction. I then discuss progress and strategies on projects with co-workers, do some work at my computer or occasionally with a pencil and paper, and attend in-office lunch seminars or presentations. All this in-between the phone calls and emails that all seem to be urgent⎯“Can we do this? No? Well, hypothetically, what if we already did?”