Her Story
About Karina
Karina Glikowski serves as a permit specialist for the city of Houston, Texas, a role she has held for the past six years within her nine years in the field. She began her career with the city following Hurricane Harvey as a customer service representative before advancing to plan reviewer, where she evaluates architectural plans for repairs and remodels at the permitting center. A high school graduate from 2003 who completed 36 hours of college coursework, Glikowski is self-taught in reading construction plans and following Houston regulations while pursuing her ICC certification. Her eight years of Army service instilled a strong commitment to serving others, which she channels into helping community members navigate permitting efficiently and through her volunteer work with TED Talks. She attributes her success to developing knowledge of construction codes, her military background, and her desire to make a difference, values she also expresses through her business, Nina Wowski, LLC, where she creates handmade jewelry and shares her life experiences to motivate others.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Karina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my many endeavors focused on developing knowledge about Houston construction codes, my 8 years of Army service which gave me a background of service to others, and my desire to help the community. I created my own business from struggles in my life and share my journey to help others grow.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
We never quit learning. No matter how much we feel we know enough, we never know enough, and we learn from others even when teaching. Everybody has a different perspective which opens up a greater understanding that it does matter how they think.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You have to have a lot of compassion, care about making a difference, be resilient, and create a purpose so you feel like you're heading towards a certain goal.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges are the deadlines and assisting customers to make them feel they received the help needed and that we helped them efficiently.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Resilience because anything takes working hard and not everything goes as planned so we have to continue at it. Integrity is one of the most important things because people know when you're sincere and want to help them.
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