Women in Construction Featuring Sherry Valdes

Although the percentage of women in the construction industry has grown over the past few years, the number is still small, 10.9% in fact. Despite this, there are opportunities in the construction industry for women to make their mark – just ask Sherry Valdes. So, how did Valdes get started in the community and what has she learned along the way?

On this newest episode of VCC’s Women in Construction Mini-Series for Women’s History Month, host Michelle Dawn Mooney chats with Sherry Valdes, Senior Paralegal with VCC, about her journey, her motivators, and her responsibilities working in the construction industry. The two talk about….

• What the day-to-day responsibilities look like as a Senior Paralegal for VCC
• How the industry is evolving alongside the market
• The different challenges and rewards of being a woman in a male-dominated industry

“Well, there are multiple challenges in the construction industry but one thing that excites me is actually getting to see the final product. Not every field you actually get to see something that comes together. In multiple industries, you only get to see maybe the piece of paper or something to that effect, but here I get to look out my window and I get to look at the apartments that we actually built…so we actually get to see a final product that we actually did and that, to me, is something that stands the test of time and gets me out of bed in the morning,” said Valdes.

Valdes has worked in the construction industry nearly her whole career and graduated from the Center for Advanced Legal Studies a little over 14 years ago. She previously worked for a construction law firm and an architectural firm before moving to Dallas to start her Senior Paralegal role with VCC.