SCS Engineers presents a behind-the-scenes look at the special people who make us thrive and the roles they play within the organization.
Vice President Dana Murray recently celebrated her 20 year anniversary with SCS Engineers. Dana started at SCS Engineers after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering at Old Dominion University. Initially hired as a Staff Engineer, Dana worked her way up to Project Engineer, to Project Manager, to Project Director and now Vice President.
One of Dana’s biggest roles through her years at SCS is being the Program Director for the prime contract with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program. This includes an international effort such as helping cities to reduce their methane gas output or designing landfills. She states that this is “very powerful work” and our efforts make a difference in the lives of the citizens in developing countries.
Dana attributes her long-lived success to how supportive SCS Engineers is to its associates. The management is very encouraging to their entry level engineers and employees. Also, not only are the SCS personnel smart, hard-working and passionate about their projects, they are supportive of each other’s work as well. In 1997, Dana took 5 years off to be with her children and she was welcomed back to SCS to continue her career when she wanted to return to the workforce.
In Dana’s opinion, this network of support is what sets SCS Engineers apart from other companies. The fact that SCS has almost 800 employees but still possess a small company feel is rather unique. Furthermore, Dana states that what SCS does best is giving their employees opportunity to grow. She remembers that when she was a young engineer, she craved having a project to herself. She got the opportunity because SCS is involved in a wide variety of projects.
Engineering seems to be in Dana’s blood; her father was a partner in an engineering firm, and now her two sons are both studying engineering in college. One piece of fatherly wisdom that Dana continues to take to heart is, “as long as you produce good work, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female.” When asked if she had any like advice for future SCSers, she encourages everyone to “ask a lot of questions.” Dana continued, “employees should not hesitate to ask questions of their managers if they are unsure of what to do. Manager and employee are intended to work closely together, and only when they do, can they both succeed.”
If a future with an organization like SCS Engineers and a career path like Dana’s is something you’re interested in, please visit SCS Careers Page for all of our available job openings.
