Stepping Back For More Training! :) Exciting!- Originally published 5-23-20

hello everyone! I hope you all are enjoying your 3 day weekend!?! It is a great moment to in time, as an essential worker, to get some rest and re-group to accomplish things that I could not get a chance to take care of during the week. The stress of acquiring and maintaining PPE was a hardship in the beginning of the global pandemic. However, my resourcefulness served me well in the initial acquisition process for the shop. I have held the fort down managing multiple projects in many aspects for the past six months. It felt like a start-up company in the making. A lot of hard work was required to help grow to next level growth. My goal has been to become a site safety manager since I was first approached about it in Aug 2019. I have been helped by my current shop CEO to achieve that next level. It helps me build my job security and adds more skills to my tool box. It also helps the shop so it is mutually beneficial. The goal is to serve as a sentinel and keep the shop safe. This effort requires some down time and more extensive training. Therefore, I am stepping back from being a project manager and heading towards my sabbatical to finish my safety training. I am so thrilled with the opportunity to rest from the weight of the shop on my shoulders!! I took the responsibility very seriously and certainly hope that the coverage will take care of my forepersons on various projects. I am so looking forward to the rest for my mind. I will be able to detach and focus on my studies. That focus is very needed to re-emerge and start the next journey with the next level of success. I have appreciated the opportunity for the past 6+ years as being a project manager. There is a lot of details and elbow grease that is required to ensure the crew continues with the work flow. When you are sitting in project meetings, I am the ONLY female unless there is an admin taking notes. This is why now working for a woman is both unique and different on many levels. In the beginning, I was so nervous and excited to learn back in 2014 after leaving the tools. I didn't immediately get the opportunity to try it out. Once I got the opportunity, I was often thrown at already losing projects prior to even setting foot on the jobsite. That has been the theme of almost every project I have worked upon. It is no coincidence that these projects were thrown at me since they were a loser- I might as well give it a go, be the scapegoat, and try to stop the bleeding. I have learned so much from each and every one of them. I am grateful for the opportunity but it is time to step up to the next level. As I have mentioned in the past, I started my safety journey back in 2013. I chose to go and train to become an authorized OSHA trainer. I taught OSHA in a labor college for about 8 years before moving on from that position. I then chose to go deeper with the safety training after crossing paths with my current employer. She is a champion for women and a big sister to me. Our goal is for me to finish my career at the shop. As the safety officer, I will serve as a protector of the shop. That is a wonderful opportunity. I have a lot to do to build our company safety program once I finish training. I have a few more exams and courses to pass before achieving my goal. I studied in the fall and took the CHST Certified Health Safety Technician exam in October 2019 and passed. I then tried to take the ASP Associate Safety Professional exam only two weeks later and I didn't pass. My mistake for not giving myself enough time to study. This is especially evident since the content is a lot more math and more safety content that I didn't give myself enough time to study. Those are lessons learned so I must give myself more time and be very disciplined with it. I plan to give myself two months to study daily as it is a job to go take the ASP again and pass it. I will then give myself one month to study daily and then take the CSP Certified Safety Professional exam. I know that any other smaller certifications that may expire, I must renew them in a timely manner. Once I ensure that all of my pre-requisites are complete and I pass the CSP, I will sign up for the NYC Department of Buildings approved 40 hour Site Safety Manager course and take the class. Once I complete the class, I can schedule the subsequent exam. I must pass background checks and have no child support issues in order to get my NYC Site Safety Manager license. Once I complete the course, I will re-emerge and become my shops Safety Officer. I will also become registered with the Metropolitan Transit Authority. I will end my working career in safety with no intention on returning to the tools. I believe in helping other people, while serving as a mentor, to guide them through the process if they also want to follow my career path. In the next few months as I finish my safety training, I will offer the courses that I have taken since 2013 until I officially become a site safety manager in the future blog posts. Questions are welcomed if you have an interest. If not, that is perfectly fine. At some point, I will start a YouTube channel to speak about my journey and to help others navigate their career path. I will let you all know when that time comes. :) This is all I have in the tank for this evening. As always, thanks for stopping by to read my blog from all over the world. Be safe with your family and enjoy this Memorial weekend! Cheers! Leslie M. 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