Rebecca Mocarski

I graduated from the University of Toledo in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, and honestly, I didn't think I would be where I am today. When I first started out, I was just learning everything, reading manuals, and I remember thinking I didn't want to do this for the rest of my life. I even looked into flight school at Bowling Green because I've always wanted to fly and be a pilot, but they said no, you can't be a pilot, you have to have 20-20 vision and be able to hear. I was born deaf and wore one hearing aid my entire life until I had cochlear implant surgery in 2019, which helped tremendously. I've always had that to deal with, but it's never stopped me from doing anything. Thanks to my parents and my speech therapist from when I was young, they pushed me to not let anything stop me or hold me back. I'm glad I stuck with engineering because being an engineer has done wonderful things for me. I started in the private sector and have been at ODOT for 22 years now as a project manager in transportation. I manage all types of projects, from resurfacing to road widening, and my expertise is traffic control. I replace a lot of traffic signals and do a lot of lighting work, along with pavement marking and signing. There's never a dull moment at work. I'm constantly in communication with utilities, right-of-way, and construction departments. I train lower-level engineers who just recently graduated and work with interns, walking them through projects and making sure they have all aspects covered. I'm very happy where I'm at right now. I didn't meet my husband until I was 39, and we've been married since 2019. I have a 5-year-old daughter and a stepson. The days go by very fast, to say the least.