Norwest’s Feature Friday: Rhythm Ghiya
"I was ready for a change and Norwest was that good change"
At Norwest, we are extremely fortunate to have an amazing team. With the relaunching of our website, we have created a program to feature one member of our staff each month for our #featurefriday. For the month of October, our Featured Employee is the very talented and brilliant, Rhythm Ghiya.
I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Rhythm earlier this week and get her unique perspective on Norwest and how dreams of NASA are responsible for bringing her to the US and then to the Pacific Northwest. I was surprised to discover her love and dreams of being an astronaut in addition to her goals of tackling every trail Oregon has to offer, even if it takes her to the ripe old age of 80. I also had the pleasure of speaking with a few of Rhythm’s supervisors and heard nothing but glowing remarks. According to her managers, of all Norwest’s values, Integrity and Taking Ownership are some of Rhythm’s strongest attributes. “She really owns her projects, driving them to completion and knowing when to pause to get clarifications. She also is always willing to put in the extra effort on projects when deadlines can’t be missed.” I could not agree more.
Q: Afternoon Rhythm! I want to start out with your background at Norwest and in the industry. Give me your resume more or less.
A: Well, I have been in the industry 10, 10 ½, years or so as a mechanical engineer. I studied in India and came to the states for my masters. I graduated with a Master’s of Science with an emphasis in Mechanical Engineering from Lamar University in Texas.
Q: Why did you choose Lamar?
A: They really made the decision easy for me. They gave me a full scholarship to cover the tuition and all I had to cover was room and board.
Q: Wow that’s wonderful! But India to Texas, that had to be a big change?
A: I actually have a funny story about that. Growing up in India, I always thought that the whole US looked like New York. The only idea I had about the US was from American movies and in the movies it all looks like New York or LA. I even have aunts in New York so that’s what I thought it would be. Lamar was in the middle of nowhere Texas. I felt cheated! It looked like Africa not the US.
Q: Oh my goodness! You mentioned that you have family in New York. Had you ever visited them before this or was this your first time in the states?
A: They have been there since the 80’s, but no, I never had visited them before I came for school. They actually were worried about me and Texas when I visited them before school started. But I told them that I would be fine. I had come all the way from India to New York so CLEARLY I was capable.
Q: Oh no, and then it was such a big change.
A: It was, but there is actually a really large Indian community at Lamar and I had made connections on a social media site, Orkut. Facebook wasn’t popular in India yet. But when I arrived, they came and picked me up and helped me set up my apartment and everything.
Q: Wow, I had no idea there was that tight-knit of a community out there.
A: Yeah, it was wonderful. It was actually really nice.
Q: Now, had you been working in the industry in India before coming to the States for school?
A: Well, I only worked for about a year or so before I applied for my master’s. But, while in my program at Lamar, I got an internship with a company in Walnut Creek (California) that was related to oil and gas and then after I graduated, they offered me a full-time position. I worked with them for about four years before moving up to Berkley and taking another opportunity.
Q: Berkley is a very unique city. How did you like it there?
A: I loved Berkeley. It’s just this big melting pot and has a lot more diversity compared to Texas. It was more what I had been looking for when I originally planned to move to the States. But after about 7 years in Berkeley, I felt like I had really explored as much as I could and I was ready for a change. So, I applied to a listing for the Norwest Irvine Office. But after my initial interview with Brian, he let me know that my skills were really more suited for the Portland office at the time and offered me a role up here.
Q: Had you spent any time in Portland? What sealed the deal on the move?
A: Well, I felt that I really had explored California as much as possible and I found everyone in the office to be really friendly and nice. I came up for the interview and then spent the weekend in Portland and found it to be really similar to Berkley. I was ready for a change and Norwest was that good change.
Q: When did you officially start here at Norwest?
A: I was hired I think in December of 2014, but really didn’t start in the office until January 2015.
Q: You mentioned that Norwest was the change you were looking for. Can you elaborate on what you mean by that? What keeps you happy at work every day?
A: It’s really the culture. As I mentioned before, the office is just really friendly and accepting. I also really fell in love with the diversity of projects we do here. There are a lot of different challenges.
Q: When you talk about diversity, what does that mean to you in your everyday?
A: We work with a lot of different types of clients. We do oil and gas, pulp and paper, and chemical facilities. Each of these industries has its own unique challenges and I really enjoy that. I also perform stress analysis and projects with piping vibrations. Those are very different from our typical terminal design and allow for an opportunity to figure out what’s going on. It’s like a crime investigation.
Q: Sounds like you really like the forensic aspect to those studies.
A: Yeah, I like to figure out what’s going on. But it’s really the variety that I like. I love that Norwest isn’t afraid of going after something that is a little different. We have the confidence in our engineering skills that we aren’t afraid to look at something a little different or outside of the box.
Q: I agree. I have found that as a company, Norwest really doesn’t shy away from something that is a little outside of the norm.
A: Exactly. And I really appreciate that level of confidence, that we aren’t afraid of a project that’s a little different.
Q: Now as you know, Norwest launched their revamped Mission Vision Value statement at last year’s summer party. Which value do you feel you embody the most?
A: It is hard to pick one! I think I identify the most with creativity, curiosity, empathy, and integrity.
"I love that Norwest isn’t afraid of going after something that is a little different. We have the confidence in our engineering skills that we aren’t afraid to look at something a little different or outside of the box. "
Q: I know it’s hard, but if you had to pick just one, what would it be?
A: That’s so hard! Ok, probably creativity. At Norwest, we get all kinds of projects and most of them are in existing facilities that require some type of tie-in or installation around existing equipment. Most of the time you are running up against the spacing and you can’t necessarily run the piping the way you want to without some expansion issue and then that would blow up the budget. Typically finding the right solution requires some out of the box thinking so you can develop a creative solution that fits the spacing and gets the client what they need. There are always going to be criteria that dictate your design but being able to meet those restrictions and still get the client what they need takes some creative engineering and I feel I’m really good at finding that unique solution for the client.
Q: One of the perks of working at Norwest is we get to work from home if we need it. What does your home office look like? Any special helpers?
A: I know. I really appreciate that flexibility. My home office is pretty minimalistic. All I need is a flat surface and some pen and paper. My husband, Pat, actually works from home exclusively and has a really nice set up so if I ever need anything more, I just take over his space and kick him out.
Q: He must love that. (laughs) Does he ever help out?
A: Pat helps in other ways. (laughs) He is a software engineer and sometimes I ask for help with tech stuff, but I rarely follow his advice and then he gets annoyed. (laughs)
Q: I know that we have talked a lot about Norwest but what is something you like to do outside of the office?
A: I really like to cook. I also really like hiking. For the first year here, I was on a mission to go on every hike possible in the area. But with our short, 3-month summers, I realized I was going to be 80 before I accomplished that. I also really like to travel. I have a strong wanderlust and like to explore.
Q: I know we both have a pretty strong desire to travel and have talked in the past a bit about it. What’s the next place on your list?
A: Iceland. I really want to see the northern lights and my husband, Pat, wants to do the biking trails. I’ve actually been trying to look at some trips that allow us to do both but to see the northern lights you have to go in the dead of winter, and that makes it hard with limited daylight to do anything else. I think we will end up taking like 15 days or so to explore Iceland.
Q: So just a few more questions here, what is one thing that no one in the office would guess about you?
A: Oh, I like this question but I’m not sure what people wouldn’t guess. I’m pretty open. But I do have a few things. One thing they probably don’t know is that in like kindergarten or first grade I really wanted to be an astronaut. That’s what really fueled my desire to move to the US. India has a space program, but they didn’t really advertise it at all, so I thought if I wanted to be an astronaut I had to go work for NASA. It wasn’t until college when I realized that astronaut probably wasn’t going to happen.
"There are always going to be criteria that dictate your design but being able to meet those restrictions and still get the client what they need takes some creative engineering and I feel I’m really good at finding that unique solution for the client."
Q: Why not?
A: Well you have to be really athletic and I’m just not. But it led me to engineering.
Q: Is there a reason you decided on mechanical engineering over space engineering?
A: When I was picking a school, I was more worried about location than program types, so I ended up at a school that didn’t have a space engineering program. I had heard that mechanical was the closest you could get and that it would apply for master’s programs. However, when I started applying for masters it didn’t quite work. It all worked out though because I have heard that it looks really glamorous, but you end up doing just one small thing and I really need variety.
Q: You started by saying you have a few things people wouldn’t guess. What’s the second?
A: I really enjoy watching cheesy shows and complaining about them to Pat. Like I really like this one show on BBC that I watch on Netflix called Mid-Summer Murders. It’s a who-done-it scenario in a small English town where solving the murder is not the main focus of the show. It’s nothing amazing, but it has this charm about it.
Q: Does Pat watch with you?
A: No. I watch them and then I come and tell him about them and complain about how bad they are. He gets pretty annoyed and tells me to stop watching but I just can’t.
Q: That’s too funny! Rhythm, I want to thank you so much for your time this afternoon. Is there anything else you would like the world or the Norwest team to know about you?
A: Not really. This was such a great mix of questions. I really like that we are starting to do this. Thanks again.
Interview by
Chelsea Bracken
Business Development - Southwest
For work inquiries:
Norwest Engineering, Inc.
P: 909.702.0976
E: cbracken@norwestengineering.com
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