Her Story
About Abigail
Abigail Rutland serves as Managed Services Manager at Avinion, a consulting firm specializing in GIS. In this role, she collaborates with clients to oversee their complete GIS systems and manages a team responsible for optimizing those systems, integrating spatial data with public interfaces to display property information. Rutland brings seven years of experience in the GIS industry, including four and a half years at Avinion, following her undergraduate studies at Auburn University and a master's degree from the University of North Alabama. She contributes to her professional community through service on the University of North Alabama Geoscience Alumni Board and the Auburn University Graduate Advisory Board, where she helps connect students with real-world opportunities. Outside her professional work, Rutland is a dedicated advocate for adaptive sports, drawing from her personal experience with a physical disability to empower others in engaging physically despite challenges. She attributes her success to perseverance through adversity and emphasizes the importance of building confidence in one's knowledge and abilities when advising young women entering the field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Abigail
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think a lot of it comes down to perseverance through adversity. In my situation, I got a physical disability when I was 11, and so I've had to pivot and change paths a lot, find what works well for me physically, and what works well for engaging my mind, and then building my life around that. So I think it's you know, it's not what happens to us, it's how we react to it, and I think my life kind of shows my reaction to things that were outside of my control.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
It boils down to having confidence. If I could go back and talk to my younger self, as I learn things and grow in my knowledge base, is to have confidence in what I've learned, have confidence in what I'm going to learn, and also knowing that it's okay to not know things, but you will as you build the skills, your confidence will build, and then that empowers you to speak on whatever topic that is, to be the voice that can empower your clients, empower your team, to get the job done. The fear of the unknown kept me from taking on challenges that I probably would have excelled at, but I let fear override that.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It boils down to having confidence. If I could go back and talk to my younger self, as I learn things and grow in my knowledge base, is to have confidence in what I've learned, have confidence in what I'm going to learn, and also knowing that it's okay to not know things, but you will as you build the skills, your confidence will build, and then that empowers you to speak on whatever topic that is, to be the voice that can empower your clients, empower your team, to get the job done.
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