Emily Gill, a Field Engineer based out of the Roanoke terminal, may be a new addition to the Associated Asphalt team but she’s seasoned from previous experiences that help her fit into a male-dominated profession. Formerly in the military and stationed in Kuwait, Gill learned early on that gender shouldn’t be a focus of the day to day. “As long as you’re knowledgeable, confident, and have a strong work ethic,” Gill said, “you’ll get along just fine.” That attitude carried Gill through her undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton, Ohio, another male-dominated arena, and continues to serve her well at Associated Asphalt.
Why Associated Asphalt?
Post graduation from college, Gill completed the required 6 months of Army training (BOLC) and then worked temporarily as an Electronic Warfare Engineer working for SRC, Inc. There, she acquired experience in data analyzing radars. While finishing up the temp job, Gill learned she would be transferred to a different unit and deploying in five months. Those few months were filled with different preparatory training with the new unit. This new unit is where she met James Hill who was the Associated Asphalt Chief Operations Officer—and Battalion Commander of the 363rd. Upon their first meeting together, he asked the standard questions of what she did on the civilian side. When he heard she was unemployed and a degreed engineer, he asked if she would be willing to move to Roanoke for a job. Coincidentally enough, Gill had been previously looking to move and relocate out of Ohio, so the opportunity felt right for her. The deployment unintentionally turned into a 10 month interview.
On the Army side, she is a logistician. Therefore, during the deployment she was in Kuwait attached to the 363rd Engineering Battalion underneath the 926th Engineering Brigade and supported the engineers across CENTCOM (Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc.). Gill was the executive officer (the person directly below the commander) of the Forward Support Company, which consisted of roughly 60 people who supported upwards of 700 people in the different Engineering companies spread across all of those countries with building materials, fuel support, maintenance support, transportation support, etc. As the executive officer, Gill was responsible for coordinating all of the support her company provided, such as hundreds of flights for her Soldiers, coordinating equipment movement and everything in between to ensure the company was successful. Not only did Gill impress James enough that he went ahead with continuing to ask her to apply for this position. He ranked Gill as the top 1LT among the 30 he has rated as a Battalion Commander.
As one of her first jobs out of the military, Gill said what she’s most looking forward to is joining Associated Asphalt and starting a civilian career. She’s excited to learn the basics of a typical post-graduate role—what she likes, what works for her, and how her career at Associated Asphalt will blossom down the road with time and experience.
What Does a Normal Day Like?
Gill said a typical day at this time includes a lot of learning and exploring terminals with her supervisor when she’s not helping review, update, and standardize items for Associated Asphalt’s maintenance program.
What the future holds
Gill sees her career at Associated Asphalt potentially leading to managing teams and leading maintenance programs, skills she honed while in the military. Gill’s previous knowledge, paired with her time spent in the terminals observing, is building a strong foundation of understanding the field—and her place at Associated Asphalt.
Although she’s working in a traditionally male-dominated industry and role, Gill doesn’t let it phase her. Her focus is on learning, growing in her role, and proving that she’s right where she belongs.
At Associated Asphalt, we support and encourage our employees to seek professional growth. Through higher education, opportunity will be provided for those who shoot for the stars.