In a year in which I became a CIHT CPD panel member and STEM ambassador, I’ve been able to reflect on the things that we can do to contribute, give back to society and influence the future of transport, as well as take an active part at a professional level by taking up roles within CIHT and beyond.

1. The first thing that I’ve been thankful for is my job at NRP. I’ve been here just over four years now and, like any professional environment, the work can be stressful and challenging. But despite the demands, I still love my job. This is thanks to the supportive management and the team of professionals I work with. The management are always open to dialogue, actively listen and, most importantly, act on any issues raised. It is also great to be surrounded by a strong team of professionals who are truly reliable, supportive and genuinely  fun people – what more can you ask for?

2. The second thing to be thankful for this year was the opportunity to speak at the CIHT’s Young Professionals Summit 2022. It was really uplifting, and filled me with hope and positivity, to see all the young professionals, who will shape the future of transport. I spoke with several of the attendees and observed some of the workshops organised on the day; and it was great to see CIHT connecting, recognising and promoting these bright and talented professionals. The active promotion of STEM roles, which was the key topic of my talk at the event, and was a real positive takeaway from the whole event, as it is vital to encourage more professionals into becoming STEM Ambassadors and it’s great to see CIHT being at the forefront of this.

3. On a personal note, the first thing that comes to mind is being able to permanently work in a hybrid mode now. The one good thing that came out of the pandemic is the ability to work in this way. I have two daughters, aged 8 and nearly 12, and being able to braid their hair in the morning, or just being able to say “hi” when they come home from school and I’m working in my home office, has been a massively positive change in my work-life balance.

4. Connected to that is the feeling of being grateful to be a working mum. When I presented at the Young Professionals Summit earlier this year, I touched on that aspect. Later, a couple of people came up and spoke to me about it. One said that she got emotional listening to my presentation and another, who is planning to have a family but was nervous about the impact on her career, said that she could now see that it's possible to be a working mum and succeed. As my older daughter started secondary school this year, it was an opportunity to reflect on whether the work-motherhood mix and balance is working out ok for me. Am I being a good (enough) mum? Like any parent I am also hoping that I am able to help my daughters become happy, positive and fulfilled human beings so I constantly ask myself if I’m doing ok (enough) as a mum. And seeing my older daughter successfully reaching that ‘big school’ milestone and doing well there, I think the answer to that (so far) is ‘yes’.

5. My final professional highlight of 2022 has been managing the Enfield Town project. I can’t wait to see the project being implemented. Thanks to a joint team effort and the overall support for the project, we managed to maintain the momentum and continued progressing development and engagement on the scheme. Enfield Council was recently awarded the ‘Community Engagement Award’ for the Enfield Town project as part of the Granicus 2022 Digital Public Sector Awards, which was fantastic news for the project and the team.

I’m looking forward to 2023 with the hope that my work-life balance and hybrid working will continue allowing me to be there for my children when needed, while also enjoying my job and progressing my career at NRP. I would like to wish all the success to all other working parents.

Agnieszka Jezierska was in conversation with Craig Thomas

Would you like to be involved in the next Young Professionals conference? Find out more about the 2023 event here. 

By Agnieszka Jezierska, Principal Project Manager at Norman Rourke Pryme (NRP)

Would you like to be involved in the next Young Professionals conference? Find out more about the 2023 event here.