This month The Professional Edge chats with Krystyna Kotowski, P.Eng., an environmental and sanitary engineer with the City of Saskatoon.
Tell us about your personal and professional background.
I grew up in Poland and attended the Warsaw Technical University, where I got my master’s degree in science.
What brought you to Canada?
My husband was active in the Polish independence anti-communist movement and was imprisoned. When he was released, we were granted refugee status in Canada in 1988. Even after the collapse of the communism, we decided to stay here. Our son was three years old when we came over so this had become his home and we had put down roots.
Why did you choose to go into engineering?
I was raised in a family with a strong engineering influence. My father was a mechanical engineer and my older brother was also an engineer. From a young age I was interested in science and math, so it was an obvious path for me.
I was interested in environment and sanitary engineering especially water and wastewater purification because it intersected with my interests in biology and chemistry. I was lucky to find a profession that connected to all my interests.
What was your biggest challenge in college?
I think I faced fewer challenges in university in Poland than female engineering students in the Canada. At some technical universities, women made up 30-40 per cent of the class. In a few engineering colleges in Poland, they actually had to impose quotas for the men because the women were overrepresented.
To what do you attribute this difference?
Part of it is probably due to the effect of the two world wars on European population. Our countries were ravaged by wars so there was more acceptance of women taking over male-dominated professions because the men were off fighting. As a result, the gender equality in the engineering professions was reached there in the late 1960s so the social acceptance of women in engineering was the issue of our mother’s generation but not for us.
What was your first job after college?
I worked for the municipal design and research bureau for the city of Warsaw, designing water and sewer systems for new neighborhoods. I also worked as an environmental engineer for a consulting engineering firm in Poland.
What do you feel was your single greatest accomplishment as an engineer?
I am thinking about this as a two part process. First part was moving to Canada – adjusting to a very new place to live. Adapting to a different social and economic system, being away from friends and family, learning to think and talk in a new language and at the same time going through the stressful degree valuating process. It took patience and determination to succeed.
Second part was to resume and progress in my professional career – being able to prove my abilities in a demanding environment like Western Canada. From this perspective, as a project manager for a number of highly visible projects, I am most proud of the new water intake project, just south of the Gordy Howe Bridge, due to its very challenging design and difficult construction process.
What are your interests outside of work?
We still have family and friends in Europe, so I travel a lot. I enjoy art, opera and tennis (the latter, both playing it and watching it). I never miss a performance by the local Saskatoon Opera. My son has moved to Boston, so I also go there often to visit him. I love to take in the opera and art galleries wherever I go.
Have you ever met anyone famous?
Since we were involved in politics in Poland, some of our old friends have made impressive political careers since then. It’s a treat meeting them when we are back in Warsaw. In operas in London and New York, I’ve met some famous opera singers. In the tennis world, I haven’t met them personally but I’ve watched some of the greatest players in the world when I go to US Open or to Wimbledon.
What is your favourite vacation spot?
I like London very much. It is very beautiful city and we have some friends, other Polish expatriates, who live there and make me feel at home. I also enjoy Boston, first of all because my son is there but also because it is quite European in character too.
What is your favourite book?
For a daily reading, it is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. It brings some sane perspective to the daily events. In general, I like reading historical books. Right now I am reading books about communist times in Russia and the history of Poland. I’m not sure I would call this my favourite book, because it is so difficult to read, but The Archipelago Gulag by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is one I’ve found especially moving.
What do you do for professional development?
I attend conferences regularly such as the American Water Works Association conference. I’ve taken many courses in project management. I took executive education project management program at the Harvard Business School which was a great experience. I gained knowledge and met people from around the world working in the same fields. I studied construction engineering and management at the University of Saskatchewan. I try to stay on top of the latest technologies. And, of course, since my husband is an engineer, we talk a lot about engineering over the dinner table, so I suppose that counts too.
Who has had the greatest influence on your life and career?
For my life, my parents obviously made a big difference. My father, as an engineer, influenced me a lot. He was my role model.
Here in Canada, my first manager at the City of Saskatoon water works, Randy Munch had a strong influence on my later career. He showed me the profession and accepted me with my background. He worked to combine my strengths with the work required. I’ll always be grateful that he believed in me. At the time I still didn’t have official recognition, but it was through the support of this person and the whole team here at the city that I received my Canadian credentials.