Kole Abbott
Kole loved to make people happy by building things that they want. She works hard to pass that message on to other women and girls who might be putting off taking a chance to get into construction. Kole says, “Have faith – take the leap!”
When Kole Abbot was just 16 years old, she was in a car accident that caused some damage to her brain. As she recovered, Kole realized her brain acted differently than it used to and that she wouldn’t be able to realize her dream of being a geneticist. Kole loved science very much, but she would no longer have enough focus to last for long hours in a lab.
When she graduated high school in the 1990s, Kole went to work on a construction site, pouring concrete with her dad’s company. At that time, there were very few women working in construction, and the superintendent at her dad’s work didn’t want to hire her.
Kole’s dad convinced the superintendent to give Kole a chance. Once she was on the job, Kole loved it! It gave her a chance to do the science she loves so much, only out in the field where she got to meet great people and get dirty! Very soon, the superintendent saw that Kole was good at the job and wanted to give her a raise! Kole was proud that she had proved her worth.
Again and again, Kole found that she had to prove her abilities in order for people to trust that she could do the job. Still, she kept working hard and doing the work she loved, and managed to earn a position as a project superintendent – she was just the fifth woman to hold the position in her company!
Kole was proud of the projects she works on, including building the Smithsonian museum and working on the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the National Air and Space Museum, but her love for construction went beyond that. She loved to make people happy by building things that they want. She worked hard to pass that message on to other women and girls who might be putting off taking a chance to get into construction. She said, “Have faith – take the leap!”
“Being a part of the construction industry has made every single day a wonder. Every day I am a part of something that people need and use, something that changes the face of the earth, something that I’m very proud to say I was a part of and something so much bigger than me.”
Kole Abbott
