Name: Ximena Cruz

Postion: Assistant Project Manager

Company: Bond Brothers

Years in the A/E/C Industry: 4

What associations or organizations are you a member of? NAWIC Boston

Why the A/E/C Industry? Both of my parents are architects in Guatemala (where I am from). They had a big influence on my career path to go into the architecture and construction industry. I grew up visiting their construction sites and sitting on their design tables while they were drawing their designs and construction sets. Architecture and construction always felt like part of my life even though the day I decided to major in architecture I was terrified because I didn’t know if I would be good enough to make it through, but here I am. 

What was your most notable project in 2017? In 2017 I worked on the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and Production Center at Boston University. This project was very challenging with a tight schedule for the design team to design it in the first place and for us to come in and build it. 

The front plaza was a big piece on which I worked on coordinating the different elements and working with the landscape architect closely to make it happen. I learned a lot and when I look at the plaza today it gives me a big sense of pride to know I helped making it happen.

If you had a mentor in your career, who was it and what did they teach you? My mom is my biggest mentor and inspiration. Watching her create the designs from just a concept and taking that all the way to the construction site and knowing how to build her own designs was always the most inspiring thing to witness. She has also been an amazing mom and was always there for her kids which is such a hard balance between work and life that she managed to master. She has always taught me to never give up to always dream big and to never stop dreaming even if your dream takes you to unknown places or pushes the limits or in my case moving to a different country. She has always been my biggest supporter and I would not be here if it wasn’t for all of her continuous support. She is definitively a Boss Lady who has inspired me to follow in her footsteps and pursue both architecture and construction.