Andrew Cavallo, PE // Senior Project Manager, Principal // Norwood, MA Office // Employee Owner since 2018
What drew you to a career in engineering? Well, probably like a lot of us, it runs in the family. My dad was a mechanical engineer, and I grew up helping him fix and build things around the house. It kind of got me involved with and exposed to a lot of the mechanical aspects of our daily lives. But the more I got into it, the more it became my own. I like the logical, rule-based nature of the engineering field. The predictability of the physical world has a sort of comfort to it. There’s somewhat of an expectation of what will happen if you can nail down the variables well enough. I like that.
What is your favorite part of your job? I get to do a lot of work in my local area. BL does quite a bit of utility work on streets, bridges, and tunnels that I travel today and some that I remember traveling on when I was a kindergartner. So, it’s cool to work on engineering projects not only where you live, but where your friends and family live as well. It gives you a little more intentionality about making sure the work is done right and it’s something you can be proud of. When I drive by a construction site of a project I worked on, I realize how many people are counting on well-engineered plans to keep them safe and the job moving forward. I like the sprockets and gizmos, but I really like how it connects to the physical world that we live in.
Is there a particular project that you worked on that you liked or was memorable to you? I wouldn’t say there is a particular project, but we do a lot of programmatic work. As a result, we’ve developed close relationships with some clients over the past 5 to 6 years. I have really enjoyed growing with these teams, not only the engineers, but project managers, construction supervisors, and other support roles as well. I’ve met a lot of talented, gracious, and fun people. It’s fun welcoming new people in but also fun seeing the great opportunities people are pursuing as they move on to different teams. These are the memories I will hold on to later in my career more than any technical aspect of a specific project.
Veterans Day was November 11th. Thank you for your service. Which branch did you serve in? What was your assignment or specialty? And finally, how has your time in the military helped you here at BL? I served in the US Army as a 12A Engineer Officer after graduating from the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. As far as how my work in the military has transitioned to my work here at BL, there’s a lot of focus on leadership in the military. In the military, the first step on your leadership journey is focusing on how to be a good follower. And then as you grow into your career, you start picking up leadership skills from all sorts of sources, both formal and informal. But even when you become more senior in rank and position, you still have to be a good follower to your boss. Even today when I am on a project team in my current role, there are situations where I need to take a step back and let someone else lead. To me, it’s all about knowing when it is time to lead and when it is time to follow.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work for fun? Some local anglers call the south shore of Massachusetts where I live “the Striper Coast”. From April to October, my dad and I regularly find ourselves watching the sun rise waist deep in the rocky outcroppings of Hull, Scituate, and Marshfield. We’ve been out in the crashing waves of a tropical storm and some of the most peaceful, serene summer mornings I can imagine. We’ve reeled in 20 fish in one morning and also went 6 months without a single bite. Either way, we always end the trip at the local donut shop to celebrate another successful morning on the water.