ORLANDO, Fla. — At the corner of Robinson Street and Summerlin Avenue in downtown Orlando, roads are torn apart, and giant, underground stormwater pipes are being replaced.

Orlando Utilities Commission engineer Natalie Urick often walks around the project with a hard hat, making sure it is getting completed properly.

“When it rains, everything goes into the storm inlets, then drains by gravity to these pipes,” Urick said as she pointed to large cement pipes that soon will be installed.

It's just one of the construction sites where she works. Her job often requires her to figure out how to replace 100-year-old underground pipes with as little disruption to residents as possible. 

She oversees millions of dollars of infrastructure investments.

“So, my job is really to coordinate the whole team and keep the budget schedule going,” Urick said.

She agrees there is a need for more women in her industry but said there is a high demand for anyone who wants to enter the field.

“I think if people understood that there is a huge need for engineering across the board, all types of engineers,” Urick said.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and studies from the Society of Women Engineers, women make up almost 17% of the engineering workforce.

Urick said her father was in the same field and is still one of her biggest supporters. She encourages females to join the industry, saying she never has been held back because she is a woman.

When not in the field, Urick can be found inside the OUC building, a publicly owned utility providing water and electric services to Orlando. Much of her work is creating designs, and she said she believes women bring important skills to her industry.

“I think women definitely bring a sense of collaboration that comes more naturally possibly to women than men," Urick said. "A compassionate empathy. And, you know, in a workplace, modern-day workplace, you need those things.”