ISL Young Professionals – Ella de Leon

Welcome to ISL’s Young Professionals! We feature ISLers who are taking the engineering world by storm. Get to know what led them to their career path, what their day-to-day looks like and what they think sets ISL apart.

Meet Ella de Leon, a Transportation Engineer-in-Training in our Langley office. Ella has been with ISL for 1.5 years. 

Ella de Leon

Ella de Leon

Transportation Engineer-in-Training

E.I.T.

What is your role at ISL?

One of my favourite roles at ISL is being the food researcher for the office because I like being able to choose what type of catering the Langley office will get! Another role I fulfill is being one of the juniors on the Transportation Planning team in BC and it provides me with a lot of opportunities to learn a wide range of Transportation Engineering topics.

What was the path you took to get to where you are today? (School, volunteering, work experience, networking, ect.)  

Originally, I was a business student at BCIT, so when I got into UBC for Civil Engineering, I had no idea what type of specialization I wanted to get into. That’s until I got placed in a co-op opportunity with the City of Surrey in their Traffic Management department. If it weren’t for that experience, who knows what I would’ve gotten into!

What skills have you developed since joining ISL?  

I thought I knew how to “project manage” in university because of the 6-7 courses I would have to take per semester, but it was something I had to redevelop once I was in the workforce at ISL. I’m definitely way more organized and have a better ability to gauge what to prioritize now. Thanks ISL!

What has been your favourite project to work on to-date?  

My favourite project so far has been working on the Traffic Management Services for the City of Burnaby’s Special Events. Depending on the event, we get to spend 8-16 hours with the City of Burnaby staff making sure the general public is safe and secure within the road closures. Since I’ve joined, ISL and their team have collaborated on 5 special events already and we still have a couple more along the way!

What’s your favourite thing about what you do in your position at ISL? 

My favourite thing about what I do in my position at ISL is knowing that any project I’ve worked on so far will always have a positive impact for the people who live around and/or within the project area. Our team could be recommending safety measures for an intersection or recommending a way to make the traffic signal operate more efficiently – the outcome is always for the betterment of the local people.

What are some of your ISL highlights? (Cool projects, social events, charitable initiatives)

I’ve helped organize some social events in the offices a few times – a notable one would be Guacamole Day which turned into a Taco Day because it landed on a Tuesday. Another one would be the “Anything Green” theme for St Patrick’s Day, so we were able to get a DIY matcha bar going in the kitchen!

What’s one hobby or interest people might not know about you?  

At one point, I may have been obsessed with mechanical keyboards. When I realized that this hobby might drain my bank account, I tried to move onto golf. Then I realized, it’s hard to find a hobby that doesn’t cost so much money, so let’s just say napping would my favourite hobby I would like to stick to.

Any advice for students or new grads entering the industry?  

As cliché as it sounds, the best advice I have is to just put yourself out there! I struggled with the networking portion as a student, but something I wish I learned sooner was at the end of the day, the companies at these networking events are there looking for you, not the other way around. I used to feel the pressure that I needed them, but they’re there for a reason; they need you. However, without seeing you in person, it gets harder to convey that you are the right fit for any role with just a singular piece of paper.

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