[VIDEO DESC & TRANSCRIPT: Farah is seated in her office. The NAD logo is on the bottom right corner.
FARAH: I grew up always wanting to do something with buildings, I just didn’t know if I’d be an architect or a structural engineer. I knew I wanted something to do with the buildings. If you’ve ever seen Chicago’s beautiful skyline, it’s not something you can put into words. I grew up in Chicago and my parents would often drive to the city to just look at its buildings. My dad is an electrical engineer, so that helps! He would always tell me what that building was, the name of that building, and why it used mirrors, steel, or concrete. He’d tell me what buildings were old and new. He would explain everything and that got me so fascinated! It’s fun to design buildings! It’s fun to design something that will actually be built somewhere out there and that it was something you were a part of. It’s an amazing feeling to see that happen.
Black and white clip of a software on the computer. Next clip, Farah is working on her computer. In the center, a white border surrounds white text “FARAH” underneath, appears in white text “ARCHITECT & STRUCTURAL ENGINEER DESIGNER.”
FARAH: Hello, my name is Farah Piatek and I’m an architect and structural engineer designer.
Black and white clip of Farah’s hand on a bunch of blueprint designs on her desk. Next clip, Farah is sitting with two co-workers as they flip through design papers.
FARAH: I knew something inside of me told me I’d do something with buildings somehow. I decided architecture was something I wanted, so I went to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) — they have a good architecture program. I graduated after five years in the architecture program with a bachelor’s degree. One of my first jobs out of college was with a firm in Chicago!
Black and white clip of Farah working on her computer as she checks her blueprint designs next to the computer.
FARAH: Eventually, I felt like something was missing. Yes, architecture was definitely my thing because I love drawing and designing things as an architect but there was no math involved. My work was more art based, using my creativity and ideas. I’d modify my plans based on consultations. When I worked with structural engineers, they’d tell me what I needed to change according to space or other important information. I realized that I wanted to be that person! I wanted to be the one to tell people how to change space.
Black and white over the shoulder clip of two co-workers seated with Farah going over the blueprint design papers.
FARAH: I decided that it was a good time for me to leave work and go back to school. I raised two children while going to school full time for structural engineering. I graduated after three years. So that brings a total of eight years of school to get my architecture and structural engineering degrees.
Black and white over the shoulder clip of Farah working on a software on her computer.
FARAH: As a structural engineer, we have to decide how to establish a piece with however many reinforcements it requires. Steel is not cheap, so we have to make sure that there’s enough steel to make the structure strong but not use too much at the same time because it’s expensive. The concrete that we make is already cured (dried) at the manufacturer — we have to transport the solid concrete to the site. This means we have to worry about not just the wind, earthquakes, or gravity, but we also have to worry about the erection of the building and handling issues. If you have to set the, let’s say, wall panels that we pre-made and transferred to the site. Once we set it up, it could crack — so we have to think ahead for that.
Black and white clip of Farah working the calculator.
FARAH: We have over 300 different projects right now and there’s about 15 engineers here so we split up the work. I use a software that helps me determine what’s good. I put in the values — so, let’s say we have a 120 ft concrete wall and I do the math and figure out we need 10 reinforcement strands. I input that data in the software and it will tell me if 10 reinforcement strands is enough. If it is, it will be a successful build. From there, we verify the software results with our engineers. It might sound simple but it’s not! There’s a lot of math involved!
Black and white overhead clip of Farah working on her computer next to her blueprint design papers and picking up the calculator. White text appears at the bottom center, “If you like math, go for engineering because it’s all about math… There’s structural engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science engineering, hydraulic engineering, civil engineering… I mean you could become an astronaut with an engineering background!” Light blue text “- Farah” and a light blue line outlines the left side of the text.
FARAH: There’s many fun jobs out there that requires math, so if you like math… you’re good to go. You’ll be fine.
Black and white clip of Farah entering data on her calculator and typing the data in her computer.
FARAH: Show people your confidence, sometimes you just need to say, “I can do it.” They will believe you and they will trust you. Communication isn’t as important as what you can do at work.
Black and white overhead clip of Farah working on her two screens computer at her desk. Next clip, close up of Farah laughing along with her co-workers. Video cuts to grey background with the NAD logo quickly changing in different bright colors from teal to white to black to hot pink to green to orange to teal to yellow to purple to finally the official NAD logo with copyright text underneath “The National Association of the Deaf (c) 2019 All Rights Reserved”.]