Like many Canadians Nensi has a richly diverse cultural background. She was born in Albania and spent much of her childhood in Italy before moving to Canada as a young teen. School came naturally to her, and she found inspiration in both art and science. As graduation drew near, she dreamed of becoming an architect. She also felt the pull of engineering. She excelled at math and physics; problem solving was something she really enjoyed. Her father was also a mechanical engineer and her first professional role model. The path became clear, and she enrolled in civil engineering at U of T. 

Through her course work and internships Nensi cemented her passion for engineering, particularly building science. She graduated, completed a master’s degree, and landed her first job at a small firm. After two years she was ready for a change and welcomed the chance to join a bigger firm when she was recruited at a client event after making small talk with an RJC rep. That was in 2015 and she’s been with RJC ever since. 

Happily, her role as a Project Engineer with the firm’s BSR team has a lot of overlap with architecture; she especially loves working on restoration projects. She finds it technically very complex but also rewarding. The collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving are what she enjoys the most. Collaboration is essential within her immediate team, but also more broadly with the multi-disciplinary teams on larger projects. She’s been increasingly exposed to those as her experience and responsibilities have grown over the years. 

She credits good communication, knowledge sharing, a strong collective work ethic, and diligence for the team’s success. A self-described extrovert, Nensi says she’s an open book and that her colleagues know pretty much everything about her. That openness invites opportunities to share and learn from each other and makes her a natural leader and mentor. She loves this part of her job, too, especially when new people joining the team show an interest in contributing to the group as well as advancing their own personal development. 

Her advice to young professionals entering the field is to be patient. The theoretical knowledge gained in school will eventually pay off with practical application on the job, but you need to put in the hard work, seize learning opportunities when they arise, set goals, and communicate with everyone what you want to eventually achieve. Even if you feel like the path to those goals is a bit winding at times, you’ll still end up where you’re supposed to be. Just like she has.