WGI Unleashed

In the 60th episode of our WGI Unleashed Podcast, we spoke with Hang Masterson, Studio Manager for our Landscape Architecture team in the West Palm Beach, FL office.

We listened to Hang as she told us what it was like growing up in a small town in Northern China 🌏, and how her love for drawing and fashion design 👗 inspired her to pursue a career in landscape architecture.

We learned she received her Bachelor's degree 🎓 in Landscape Architecture from Dalian University of Technology in China, then went on to obtain a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

We discussed the culture shock she experienced when first moving to the US and why she chose to put down roots in South Florida. Hang also told us what she enjoys doing in her spare time with her husband and daughter and discussed what country they hope to travel 🧳 to next.

Go listen now to find out what popular food Hang doesn't like, what song she knows all the words to, and how many times she has changed her name!

On the newest episode of WGI Unleashed, we got to know Jasmin Ramirez, a human resources generalist who is based out of our Orlando office. Jasmin has been an integral part of WGI and the HR team for over 4 years and is a Florida native who is also bilingual. (Fun fact 💡- Spanish was her first language)

Jasmin talked to us about what it was like growing up in and around Orlando in a large, tight-knit, Columbian family. We learned that she graduated from the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s degree focused in industrial and organizational psychology, which she said proved to be very beneficial within the field of human resources.

Jasmin walked us through what a typical day looks like for her here in the world of HR coordination and explained exactly why she loves working at WGI so much.

We discussed her love for travel 🧳 and went through the extensive list of places she has visited 🌎 and others she still wants to see. She told us about the most important "person" in her life, her adorable pup Jax 🐶, and then smoothly slid in the fact that she was a Latin dance instructor 💃for several years in her past life.

We also discovered, despite Jasmin's best efforts to keep it concealed 🔐, that she is apparently an international superstar as well 😋.

Jasmin is a Human Resources Generalist with extensive knowledge and a demonstrated history of working in the engineering and hospitality industries. She is highly skilled in onboarding, new hire orientations, training, communications, customer service, and catering and events.

Right from the beginning of our interview with Andrew, we knew we were in for a treat! He brought so much energy and positivity 🙌 to the room that it was hard not to get completely swept up in all of the interesting stories he had to share with us.

Andrew took us along on his journey from Jamaica to Canada and finally to the United States, where we learned he picked up several post-secondary degrees along the way, including a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University, as well as, 2 Master's degrees, one in Civil Engineering - Structures from Queen's University, and the other in Business Administration from Duke University.

We talked about his tight-knit team, were enthused about his passion for his job, and discussed why he loves working at WGI. He also gave several shout-outs to co-workers throughout the podcast, so listen closely because you may have gotten some love from Andrew 🥰.

We also had an interesting time learning about what he likes to do in his spare time, which includes: gardening 🌱, traveling 🧳, attending F1 races 🏁, and enjoying lots and lots of rum 🥃😎!

In episode 57 of WGI's Unleashed podcast, we spoke with Sandor Laszlo, the Regional Manager of Technology in our Geospatial division. Sandor joined the WGI team about three years ago and brought over 20 years of professional experience with him. Sandor told us what it was like growing up in Fords, New Jersey, a diverse suburb of New York City, where he spent the entirety of his childhood before heading off to college.

We discovered that he started his career in software development, spending almost 20 years in that field before transitioning into engineering, ultimately refining his focus on geospatial technology. We also delved into some of the latest, cutting-edge technology WGI has been investing in, and learned how Sandor and his team have being utilizing this equipment to enhance our projects and benefit clients.

Listen to Sandor's episode now to find out what his go-to karaoke song is, what exit he's from in New Jersey, and to hear the unique way he pronounces the word coffee!

For episode 56 of our Unleashed podcast, we chatted with Augustine Verrengia, a Market Leader for our Civil Engineering team in our Austin, TX office. Augustine has over 12 years of Engineering experience and is coming up on his 1st anniversary with WGI.

Augustine talked to us about growing up in the Austin area, walked us through the early days of his career after graduating from The University of Texas at San Antonio with a bachelor of science in civil and environmental engineering, and told us the story of how he ended up here at WGI. 

We learned he recently got married and discussed the joys of becoming a new parent and raising a family in the same city he grew up. He also let us in on some intriguing endeavors he has embarked on in the past, took us through some of his hobbies, and told us the life-altering reason he had to scale back on one of his favorite outdoor activities.

Augustine has substantial experience in civil engineering design, project management, and construction administration duties gained through a wide range of assignments, including mixed-use, residential, aviation, industrial, municipal, education, commercial, and master-planned projects.

Britney talked about studying abroad in Italy, being born in south Florida,  and studying at Southern State University. She also discusses how she met her now-husband on a blind date before both of them moved to Texas to teach kindergarten. Britney now has two young boys, a dog named Luca (named after the movie), and 4 chickens where she gets fresh eggs every day!

Britney jumped into the AEC world in 2015 and has not looked back. Her creative side, management, and organization skills have assisted her in becoming a successful marketing manager and assisting in business development efforts.

For our final WGI Unleashed episode of the year, and in celebration of National Twin Day on December 18th, we talked to WGI’s only set of twins, Ashley Schmidt and Jackie Tuten. Both are located in our Austin, TX office and have been with WGI for over 6 years.

We had an entertaining time this episode talking with Chad Riddle, a Project Manager on our Land Development team in Jacksonville, FL. Chad began his career with WGI in the West Palm Beach, FL office before transferring to our Jacksonville office to help jump-start our land development division there.

Chad has extensive knowledge and experience in the production and management of design and drafting services on a variety of projects. His range of work includes mixed-use developments, residential community design, and commercial/urban infill. As a project manager, Chad is responsible for site and landscape design, managing projects through the local agency approval process, and assisting clients from concept through construction to ensure their design intent is maintained.

We had a blast this episode talking to Blake Wallace, a Data Engineer in our Tampa, Florida office. Blake is a part of our Info Technology division and has been with WGI for over 3 years.

Blake told us what it was like growing up in a small town in Florida, after being adopted from Thailand as a toddler. We learned that he joined the Marines fresh out of high school, and also got some insight on just how much fun one can have when working the night shift alone at Kinkos.

Blake discussed his love for all genres of music, that he likes to build and race drones (who knew you could race drones 🤷‍♀️), and how he used to compete in autocross. As for pets, we learned he has one cat at home, as well as 3 adorable parking lot strays he cares for at work!

We had the privilege of talking to Wes Kaisershot, Regional Manager Utilities Engineering on our SUE team located in our Austin, TX office. Wes has been with WGI for less than a year but has over 23 years of experience in his field.