Vice President
Ray Kennamer Construction / Albertville, Ala.
Building Unlikely Friendships:
I went to Auburn. They have their school of building science as part of their school of architecture, design, and construction. The guys in those classes gave me a weird look as I came into the room. I graduated with four other women, and it took a full year of classes to finally feel like the guys took me seriously and didn’t think I was just there shopping for a husband. Getting an internship at a construction company and being able to say that I worked on million-dollar hotel projects was the turning point.
It took a year to finally feel like the guys didn’t think I was just there shopping for a husband.
Silly as it is, there was a restaurant near campus, the Barbecue House, and one day the group came up to me and asked, “Why don’t you come with us?” I was like, “I made it! I’m part of the group.” It was refreshing to have people respect you. The Barbecue House is no longer there, but I still remember what I got: cheesy grits and sweet tea. I got that almost every single time. We went there at least once a week for an entire semester. I’m good friends with those guys to this day and we still check in with each other.
Read other rising stars' stories by clicking the icon below.
