Mar 14, 2022
BRITTANY Ó RUACHÁINN
Lina Castro is the project manager for InVision Advisors, and one of the few women working in construction.
With the recent recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8, Lina Castro is celebrating her unique position as being one of the few women in the construction field.
Castro serves as the project manager for InVision Advisors, a Carrollwood company that provides owner representative services and guides clients through the design and construction process. She has been in the industry for five years, starting out in an administrative role and has found herself to be more interested in the field as her time progressed within the company.
“I was in college on the medical track, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do in that world,” Castro said. “I was offered an opportunity to help out around the office, and I took it. As I was working full time, I’ve always had a creative mind but never knew how to put it to use and this position really allowed me to dig deeper into that.”
As a project manager, Castro said she loves the overall variety of day-to-day duties and diversity of projects from health care to mental health, fleet maintenance and operations. She added that every day she finds a new learning opportunity whether it’s in construction, design or process related. One benefit of her job, Castro said, is she’s even taken some of the skills in design she’s observed and applied it in her own home.
While some days working in a male-populated industry can be challenging, Castro said she’s seeing it growing to include more women. She is a member of the National Association of Women in Construction, and she sits on the board as secretary and is on the membership committee. She credits this group as a great means to network and learn leadership skills for women in the industry.
The organization offers women a chance to share their experiences, challenges, work on projects together, and learn from each other.
“More women are coming into the industry,” she said. “They bring a different perspective. My advice is always to go for it. In my case, I never would have seen myself wearing a hard hat and steel-toed boots, nonetheless walking a construction site with professionals. I took a chance on myself and my career. I was able to explore a side of myself that college wasn’t able to provide.”
Castro encourages men and women who aren’t sure if college is the right path for them to consider other options, like trade schools. There are avenues with a more hands-on learning experience, and in the contractor world, a lot of businesses need labor help, which can be a great way to get acquainted with the industry.
So far, Castro said she feels like it’s been a rewarding career. She’s gotten to see projects move from the design stage to fully constructed and attending ribbon cuttings. Sometimes, she added, she likes to drive routes that will take her past completed projects to remind herself of how far she’s come.
What helps her today are her leadership skills and the confidence she’s built over time.
“In this world, you have to be a leader and you have to be confident in all of your doings,” Castro said.