Author: Lindsay Chen

When Wesley was growing up in Saint John, New Brunswick, he didn’t think that he might end up in the geotechnical field. He just knew that he eventually wanted a family and a good job to support them. When it came time for him to choose a direction at the University of New Brunswick, he knew he was good at math and felt that Civil Engineering would provide a good balance of technical skills and employment opportunities.

BGC wasn’t originally on his radar, and there was a bit of luck involved in how he ended up applying.

He began his career at TerrAtlantic Engineering Limited, who were already in the process of merging with BGC, as a summer student in the Fredericton office in 2013. He later joined our one team in 2015 after completing another summer term and his undergrad. He returned to the University of New Brunswick and completed a M.Eng. in hydrogeology in 2017 and has been with us in our Fredericton office ever since.

Wesley considers himself fortunate that he’s ended up working at BGC and that he’s had a chance to work on some really interesting projects across Canada, while still being based close to home.

How long have you been with BGC and what do you do here?

I’ve been at BGC technically since 2013, but full time since 2017. Currently I am an Intermediate Geotechnical Engineer and I work on advanced soil testing in our Fredericton Lab.

How would you describe your job to a class of Kindergartners?

I crush dirt to see how strong it is.

What is your favourite thing about working at BGC?

I don’t think I can pinpoint one thing that is my favourite, it’s really the combination of the things that we do well and our desire to continually improve that makes us special. BGC’s unique way of operating as a business (our flat management structure and lack of profit centres), combined with our clear focus on high quality work and technical excellence and the fact that we are employee owned, makes this a great place to work. This kind of environment breaks down a lot of the traditional barriers you see in other companies.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give to new hires at BGC?

I couldn’t narrow this down to one piece of advice. So here are a few:

Anybody can be a leader. You don’t need to have a specific personality to do high quality work or influence change.

Don’t try to fake it until you make it. I personally hate that saying. I think it’s more valuable to be honest with yourself and set realistic expectations.

Don’t be a workaholic, and if you are you going to be a workaholic, don’t expect everyone else to be one.

If you could switch jobs with someone in BGC, who would it be and why?

It’s funny, but I think I’ve already done this. Early in 2020, due to a few different factors, I was ready for a bit of a change. After a fair bit of brainstorming and exploring different options, I realized that I was interested in soil mechanics and that I happened to work in an office with a work class soil testing facility. It’s been really fulfilling to work in the lab over the past couple of years and it’s given me lots of opportunity to continue to learn and grow.

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

Lego. I’ve liked Lego from a young age and I now share that hobby with my kids, which has been a lot of fun. The problem is that you always need more, so LEGO is an easy answer for me.

What is the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?

I’m not very adventurous, so I think it has to be Heinz purple ketchup. It just seems unnatural.

What fictional place would you like to visit?

As a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wakanda, which is the fictional country where Black Panther takes place.

If you had to listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be?

With some hesitancy to admit this, Taylor Swift is my favourite artist and I can’t narrow it down to one song.

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Trust your gut and believe in yourself. I was lucky to have engineers I’ve worked with tell me this right out of school. Hard work beats skill. Even if you aren’t the smartest or most naturally skilled, you can still work hard and end up being great at whatever you choose to do.

When Kristy Ivanic was looking at post-secondary education, she was originally thinking she would study to become an architect, but she decided that would be boring. She wanted something challenging so she picked civil engineering because she thought it seemed like it would be hard, she was right. After finishing her Diploma at SAIT she has spent over 20 years doing civil and structural inspections in the construction industry.

At a certain point in Kristy’s career she decided she wanted a change. She had once worked with Heather Thomas, a member of BGC’s Health & Safety Team, and Heather had previously suggested that she should consider joining BGC.

Heather thought Kristy would be a great fit here and would really enjoy working with the team. Kristy had previously dismissed this, thinking it didn’t make sense because she’s not a Geotech. But now, looking for a change, she decided to explore openings at BGC and has since discovered that Heather was right.

Outside of work Kristy enjoys travelling, fishing and spending time outdoors, and singing with a local community choir. Fun fact, she was a performing arts vocal major before pursuing engineering and is a formally trained opera singer. After years of singing in Latin she prefers to sing pop songs with her choir.

How long have you been with BGC and what do you do here?

I have been at BGC just over 2 years and I’m a Lead CQA in the Tailings Group.

How would you describe your job to a class of Kindergartners?

I work on construction sites making sure people build what they ask them to build. Or, as I told my husband the other day, I watch big trucks drive back and forth.

What is your favourite thing about working at BGC?

I like working here because of the ‘one team’ model. BGCers just embrace everybody and you have the opportunity to learn from everyone. It’s a really supportive and friendly environment.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give to new hires at BGC?

Don’t let the initials behind people’s names intimidate you. There are a lot of incredibly smart and experienced people here, those with Master’s degrees and Ph.D.’s and a host of other initials that follow their names, but that doesn’t mean they are any different than anybody else. They genuinely just want to see BGC and every individual that works here, succeed regardless of background or experience level.

If you could switch jobs with someone in BGC, who would it be and why?

Lindi Braund because she does so many different things across BGC and gets to talk to everybody and learn their stories. I wouldn’t mind a week at her desk.

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

Coffee, particularly Costa Rican coffee which I became addicted to when I traveled to Costa Rica many years ago. Or maybe time, but you really need coffee to do all the things you could do if you have more time.

What is the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?

I do a lot of international travel and I try to eat something weird everywhere I go. In the Northwest Territories while working in Inuvik I ate smoked beluga whale. The part with the meat was ok but the blubber was not the best tasting.

What fictional place would you like to visit?

Hogwarts, the school in Harry Potter or the moon planet of Endor, who wouldn’t want to hang out with Ewoks?

If you had to listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be?

It’s hard to think of just one song but generally I could listen to classical music for the rest of my life. Or the original hard rock bands from the 80’s/90’s (GnR, Metallica, etc).

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Trust your gut and believe in yourself. I was lucky to have engineers I’ve worked with tell me this right out of school. Self-doubt can be really destroying.

We’re excited about the recent addition of a few new team members to BGC. They each bring a wealth of expertise and skills to our #OneTeamOneBGC and we’re happy to introduce you to them.

BGC recently welcomed three new seniors to our team:

Micah Richey, P.E. (CO)
Civil Engineer
Golden, CO

Micah completed his degree in Civil Engineering at Colorado State University and started his career in 2006. Micah specializes in Hydrology and hydraulic modelling, inundation and dam breach modelling, and the design of hydraulic structures. He has spent most of his career on large multi-disciplinary mining and landfill projects in the United States and around the world. Most recently he has gained experience in 2-dimensional hydraulic modelling. He is a licensed professional engineer in Colorado. He is excited to join the BGC team and to learn from new challenges. When not at work he enjoys spending time with his 2 children, friends, and his dog exploring the outdoors hiking, snowboarding, fishing and live music

Mylène Sansoucy, M.Sc., P.Eng. (QC)
Senior Geotechnical Engineer
Ottawa, ON

Mylène is a geotechnical engineer with 16 years of experience working as project manager and designer on diversified projects. Following her graduate studies at Laval University, she gained experience in geotechnical investigations and instrumentations applied to a wide range of projects, such as large-scale embankment work on deep sensitive clay deposits, slope stability analyses and stabilization work design. She then worked on the rock mechanics aspects for a major hydroelectric development in Quebec. She was first involved as a designer engineer and, as the project advanced in construction phases, she moved on-site and worked as supervisor for the monitoring and control of rock excavations and earth works preparation. After completing this extensive project, Mylène worked 5 years for an international consulting firm, during which she has participated in numerous projects concerning mining sites. She gained experience in tailings storage facility dams design and management, as well as mine site reclamation. Mylène is enthusiastic to join BGC Team and to participate in thoughtful projects with other Earth Sciences experts. When not at work, Mylène enjoys spending time with her husband and three young children. Besides, she always manages to make room for running long distance and competing on ultra-trail races.

Jamey Turner, M.Sc., PG
Senior Geologist
Golden, CO

Jamey grew up in Florida and Alabama and fell in love with geology as a teenager, rock climbing and rock hounding around the southeast US. Jamey is a geologist with diverse experience integrating geological, geotechnical, geohazard, and geophysical data for geoscience and engineering projects locally and internationally. His experience includes design and technical oversight of large site investigations for land, nearshore, and marine projects. Jamey’s specialties include engineering geology, 3D seismic interpretation, neotectonics, and site characterization for mining, nuclear, energy transmission, infrastructure, and water resource sectors. After graduate school, Jamey began his career at Donlin Creek, AK in 2006 and moved to Golden, CO in 2007. Outside of work, Jamey enjoys the beautiful Colorado outdoors with his wife and kids. His favorite activities are fly fishing (and untying his wife’s knots while fly fishing), climbing, skiing, mountain biking, playing guitar and mandolin, road-tripping North America, and exploring new countries.

We’re also excited to welcome Hamza Nadeem, B.Eng. (CivE), M.Sc. (GeoE), Geotechnical Engineer, to our team. He will be based out of our Vancouver, BC office.