Isabela Chacin

I attribute my success to comparing myself with my younger self rather than getting overwhelmed by daily challenges. When I start looking back to when I started my university and was working towards my degree, and I imagine that person seeing me now - organizing projects, residential projects with multiple areas, and at the same time communicating with commercial accounts - I feel like that person would definitely become super happy and super proud. They would never imagine what I have become right now. Having that comparison actually makes you realize how strong you have become and the progress that you have done through the years. I also believe that having an execution plan is key - as long as we have an execution plan, it's always going to become a success, whether it's for a workout activity or for a professional environment.

For a woman who wants to start working in project coordination and the construction environment, definitely the advice is don't be afraid to be part of the process. Don't feel overwhelmed. When we talk about construction, it's more, like, mainly men, and you might feel like, oh, can a woman actually be part of that? Definitely you can be part of that. Actually, I feel like women are better in terms of coordination, in terms of the result, because if you think about it, we don't only coordinate projects, we also coordinate our whole life. You need to coordinate your family, you need to coordinate your hobbies, who are you going to spend time with - that's the same thing for construction. They need someone who is going to be committed from the beginning to the end, and I feel like women are personally, definitely the person who has the power to do that. Don't be afraid to be part of fields that you feel like maybe women won't fit in - that's something I would love to focus on in my career future, empowering women in this way.

The most important value to me is understanding people's goals and making them comfortable, whether in my professional work or personal activities. When I plan activities for Pilates clients, I need to understand their goals, understand the reasons why they are there, and make it comfortable for them. That's the same thing with projects - you need to understand the stakeholder views, and how they feel, whatever their vision is, you make it true, you make it real. I feel like that will be the same for any activity that we have in our life. As long as we have an execution plan, it's always going to become a success. This applies whether it's for a workout activity or for a professional environment.