Innovation Fall 2025

VOLUNTEERS

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT M ary -J ane P iggott , P.E ng .

Mary-Jane Piggott, Vice-President at Klohn Crippen Berger, is on the Scholarship Adjudication Committee at Engineers and Geoscientists BC.

Q What initially inspired you to volunteer with the Scholarship Adjudication Committee? I feel strongly about encouraging young people to take up engineering. I have given talks to the engineering class at the high school my kids went to and it surprised me how the students would comment in a desire to do engineering but that their parents felt there weren’t jobs in it. Anything we can do to make the path to a professional engineer a little easier for those willing to go down that road is a win in my book. Q What was your most memorable moment as a volunteer? I think the most memorable moment for me was giving a presentation to a Girl Guide’s group and having one of the girls say that she didn’t know girls could be engineers. I think the reason it is my most memorable moment is because of how disappointing it was to hear that. It was this experience that solidified my opinion that we need to be reaching out to kids when they are in middle school, before peer pressure kicks in, to encourage them on the engineering path. Q What skills or new perspectives have you developed or gained from your volunteering? The review of P.Eng. applications has been a good reminder to me that we have a crop of very capable professionals coming through. I really enjoy reviewing a good quality application. I would say the same thing about the scholarship applications. Seeing some of the volunteer activities those applicants are involved in is inspiring. I don’t think it’s a new skill but reviewing those encourages me to continue with volunteering.

Q Have you had any professional mentors that helped inspire you to volunteer? What is the greatest lesson you learned from them? I have been very lucky to work with a group of peers and seniors who have contributed to the engineering profession through volunteer opportunities in one way or another, and it is their example that encouraged me to get started. Seeing the satisfaction they get from their volunteer opportunities showed me the value this can have to the individual as well as the broader engineering community. Q How do you balance your professional career and your volunteer commitments? It’s like anything else in life. If you want to do it, you will find a way to fit it in. I think the main thing is to just start and do that with small time commitments. Each of the volunteer items only takes a small amount of time but even a small time commitment can seem large – until you start. Q What skills from your professional life have been most beneficial in your volunteer work? I would say time management and organization are the main ones. Being able to set time aside to focus on the volunteer items is key. If it is a scheduled activity, then you are less likely to delay. You are also less likely to feel overloaded because you just get it done rather than having it as a commitment that becomes a mental burden.

42

Fall 2025

Innovation