Employee Spotlight – Wesley Tibbet

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.