Macy Canete

Beyond an education in business management, technology, economics, project planning and building skills in the Del E. Webb School of Construction, Macy Canete says there are two other vitally important things she learned: relationship-building and teamwork.

Canete counts as the biggest achievement of her undergraduate years her work to mentor incoming first-year students and prepare them to succeed in the school’s construction programs.

Equally as fulfilling, she helped to revive the Arizona Women in Construction student organization and became its president to provide her fellow students an active social network whose members support each other in their academic and career pursuits.

Canete found the knowledge, insights and mentorship she was given by her teachers to be  “immensely beneficial” to her college experience.

She singles out faculty members Kristen Parrish, Anthony Lamanna, Jeffrey Vann, Richard Standage, James Ernzen and Kraig Knutson among those who bring valuable “real-life” construction industry experience into the classroom.

“My classmates and professors have become my second family and I plan on continuing to build these relationships throughout my career,” she says.

Canete’s academic abilities earned her financial support toward her education from a New American University President’s Award, a Daniel and Katherine Mardian Scholarship, the DeTommaso Endowment for Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering New American University Scholarship and the Del E. Webb Foundation Women in Construction Scholarship.

After graduation, Canete will begin a full-time position as a project engineer with a construction company based in Montana, but the job will enable her to work on projects throughout the country.

She is looking forward to using what she has learned in the Fulton Schools “to be an integral part of projects that benefit society and the environments we live and work in.”

Canete also plans to continue her collaborative efforts with colleagues and students to push for progress in her field.

“I want to encourage future generations of women to join the construction industry and help break down gender stereotypes within this profession,” she says.

“My long-term career aspiration is to one day be a mentor to other young professionals entering the construction industry,” Canete says.

She is also thinking of one day pursuing her interest in construction industry law.

“I am always looking for new challenges and adventures,” she says.

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ spring 2020 class here.