Tremco WTI Celebrates Women in Roofing - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Grace Kormos from Tremco WTI. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips, the podcast that takes you on a thrilling journey across the world of roofing. From fascinating interviews with roofing experts to on-the-road adventures, we'll uncover the stories, innovations and challenges that shape the rooftops over our heads. So fasten your seat belts and join us as we embark on this exciting roofing road trip.

Megan Ellsworth: Hello, everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth. Welcome back to Roofing Road Trips. I'm so excited. I'm road tripping over to Tennessee to chat with Grace Kormos from Tremco WTI. Hi, Grace. How are you?

Grace Kormos: Hi, I'm good. How are you, Megan?

Megan Ellsworth: I'm so good. I'm excited to learn more about you and hear just about the great things Tremco is doing and all of the fabulous women you have there.

Grace Kormos: Yeah, for sure.

Megan Ellsworth: So I'll let you just introduce yourself and tell us a little bit more about you.

Grace Kormos: Awesome. Cool. Well, my name is Grace Kormos. I started with Tremco back in 2018 as an intern. So I was studying at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, majoring in construction management. Hadn't had much luck finding any internships. I was looking for something more residential, but just didn't really find an opportunity that I felt suited me. Found Tremco online. I applied and was given an offer for my job in just a couple days. So I've been with Tremco ever since. So that was my sophomore year of college. I started as an intern and got hired on as a construction manager in 2021. And yeah, been here ever since.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow, that's awesome.

Grace Kormos: Yeah, yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: What attracted you to roofing, or was it kind of like you just found it and then once you found it, you fell in love?

Grace Kormos: Yeah, honestly, like I said, I had zero intention of being in roofing. Obviously, I had a love for construction more on the residential side, but like I said, just couldn't really find anything that just caught my eye and Tremco was close to home, close to where I grew up, so I wanted to be around for the summer, so I found it and ended up just being an awesome opportunity, so I stuck around.

Megan Ellsworth: That's great. That's awesome. So could you kind of describe what a typical day looks like for you in your current role at WTI?

Grace Kormos: Yeah. So as a construction manager, your day-to-day is basically just project management. Typically, you've got anywhere from five to 10, maybe more jobs running at one time. So your day-to-day is just checking in on progress, making sure your contractors have everything they need, your superintendents are communicating with you if there's any issues on site, communicating through to the customer. Basically, just a lot of phone calls, a lot of conversations. You're basically have your hands in a lot of buckets. You're behind the scenes, you're on site, so you're kind of the management of everything. So keeping everyone in line, making sure materials are there, we're on schedule, all sorts of things.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. It's a lot to keep track of.

Grace Kormos: Yeah, it's a lot.

Megan Ellsworth: So what's your region? Are you just Tennessee or do you do other states?

Grace Kormos: I'm the construction manager for our South Atlantic region, so I actually have two other associates that work for me with me and then we're actually looking to grow, always growing. So we look over Tennessee, Kentucky, part of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. So we've got a good amount of states. Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Nice. Awesome.

Grace Kormos: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: So what are some of your biggest challenges you've faced in your career and how did you overcome them?

Grace Kormos: I think getting started in my career at such a young age. Tremco is really the only job I've known post-grad, plus getting serious looking for jobs in college is kind of like, "This is all I've known." So I started when I was 18. I'm 25 now. So it was a lot to navigate. Tremco, not only are we general contracting, but we have so many different divisions. We are also manufacturers, so we create our own materials as well. So not only was I learning how to become a construction manager, but I was learning Tremco products and all of the things about Tremco, all the different divisions, basically how we go to work.

So it was a lot to take on, and like I said, it was my first job. So it was also my first go at my big girl career and it was a lot to take on, but I've had such a great team. I was surrounded by people that have been with Tremco for years, so I never felt like I was struggling with it or in a bad spot. It definitely took a while and I'm obviously still learning every day, but that was probably my biggest thing is since I started young, so I had a little bit more to learn, but I'm still here. It's been good.

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing.

Grace Kormos: Yeah, we've got a great team. Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. It's great too that you've kind of been brought up now by Tremco.

Grace Kormos: Right, right.

Megan Ellsworth: Almost like Tremco is the parent and you're the little bird that's off to fly now. So that's really cool that you've stayed and really cultivated a career within the company. That's special.

Grace Kormos: Yeah, it's been awesome. Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Okay. So what aspects of the roofing industry keep you motivated and passionate about your job?

Grace Kormos: I think the one thing I love about my job is that I have a footprint for my day-to-day kind of goes with talking about day-to-day life as a construction manager. But at the same time, no construction job looks the same, whether it's roofing or a full building facade, something building envelope. It's never going to have the same outline. Yeah, you might run the same. You have a pre-construction meeting and then you have a closeout meeting and all those things don't change, but everything that happens in between, it's not unknown, but it's different. So it makes it fun because you're always just kind of doing different things, learning different things, different conflict management or crisis management. You might have issues that come up that you haven't experienced before. So it's a lot of learning. It's not like you're sitting at your computer every day just clicking through the same software and hoping that the next day is something more exciting. It's always changing. There's always something to be working on, something different. So you definitely learn to multitask, a lot of time management, but I think, yeah, it's never really the same. That's what I love about it.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it keeps you on your toes. That's nice.

Grace Kormos: Right. It does.

Megan Ellsworth: Okay, so quick question. Are you a National Woman in Roofing member?

Grace Kormos: I am. I am a member.

Megan Ellsworth: Love.

Grace Kormos: Yes. I know. I hadn't heard of it until I was an intern and some of the ladies in the office are like, "You might as well get started now. Even if you're in school and you can't come to the events, it's a great platform," just reading articles and things like that, being a part of it. It's awesome to see that there's an organization that's there to support women and hope that one day, it becomes more of a norm that a female's opinion is allowed to be inserted in a male-dominant industry. So yeah, I love it. I've met a bunch of great people, read a bunch of great content, so it's awesome.

Megan Ellsworth: I love. So I know Tremco has a lot of women that work for them. They're really a forward thinker in the industry and really, they walk the talk and talk the walk. So how do you think Tremco WTI supports and celebrates women in roofing and how has that impacted your career?

Grace Kormos: Honestly, I mean, if you just look at the structure of Tremco as a whole, we have women in so many big roles and little roles from the top all the way down to the bottom. And a couple years ago, that may have never been something that you would've seen, so just that in and of itself. We have women in so many big roles that it's empowering that you have those people because it makes you feel more confident. And like I said earlier, such a male-dominant industry. Any part of construction is. That's not... everyone knows that. It's been really nice. It's a sense of comfort, I think, as well. You just make so many good relationships with people and obviously, male-female, always great relationships, but it's nice when you have a little extra connection with having women in the workplace with you.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, couldn't agree more. Have you attended any of the Nashville Women Roofing days?

Grace Kormos: I attended one in Cleveland a couple years ago, but since just moving down to Nashville, it's been so busy. I wish I could attend more, but I haven't yet.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Well, hopefully soon. Yay.

Grace Kormos: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Okay. Are there any specific projects or accomplishments that you are particularly proud of that you've been a part of?

Grace Kormos: Honestly, I can't think of any super specific. It's just I've had such a unique career at Tremco, and I was initially one of the only women construction managers. And not only that, I was one of the first that was actually an intern for multiple years that got hired on post-internship. So I've had such a unique just timeline from the start that I'm just so proud of it and I've always had so much support. And yeah, it's just been great. Everything about it. I love all my projects, even the hard ones. It makes you who you are and you got to get through it. Yeah, I think I'm just very proud of my career so far and I hope it goes a long way.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, that's awesome. I love it. I just love seeing passion and being excited about your job because it is something we all go to every day.

Grace Kormos: Right, right. You got to have it. I know and it's like I never would've thought of seeing myself passionate in something like roofing. But honestly, Tremco, not only are we this huge general contracting company, but we also manufacture our own products. So not only are we in the midst of constructing new roofs and being a part of that, we're also innovating on the product side, which makes it so much more fun because you're able to apply what you're learning about how Tremco is trying to be innovative in materials and all of that and then apply it to your jobs.

So it's cool to see the products that we've taken that were old school and how we've made them new school and all that type of stuff. So it's been so cool to see and I think that's another part that just makes you have more passion about it is because part of the solution when you work for someone that not only takes passion in being good at delivering a great product and being that great general contracting company that we are, but we also are doing the same on the manufacturing side, which is awesome to see.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that is awesome to see.

Grace Kormos: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: I would love to hear some advice that you would have to other women considering a career in roofing, but also young people. I mean, you're 25. I'm 26.

Grace Kormos: Right.

Megan Ellsworth: And we're both in roofing. Where are all the young people at? And so [inaudible 00:11:51].

Grace Kormos: Right, and I love this question because when I was in school, my biggest fear was that I was going to walk into a classroom and be taught by males and have two girls in the classroom and be sitting with a bunch of classmates that were males. It was one of my biggest fears.

Also coming, I came from an all girls high school, so it was a huge transition. I'm leaving an all girls high school and going into construction management and completely male dominant.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, wow.

Grace Kormos: So it started really early for me and I realized through my connection with being an alum that I've seen the amount of women and young women growing that are becoming a part of that major and it's awesome to see. I'm still in communication with a couple of the girls that we went to school with, so it's awesome to just see that everyone's thriving in their roles at their different companies and I continue to see the numbers grow as an alumni. I'm always checking in. My little brother's actually was a part of the same program at Kent State.

So yeah, it was super awesome to just see it's consistently growing. I feel like there's more out there in the world and in social media that makes it normal and makes it okay for women to feel like they can pursue a career in construction, which I think is awesome. My advice would just to be take it on. I mean, don't be afraid. You might get knocked down. You might feel like you don't belong, but I feel like that happens in a lot more places and industries than you could ever imagine. So I think there's no reason to shy away from it.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Completely agree. What would you say to roofing companies like WTI that are looking to hire the next generation and don't know where to start?

Grace Kormos: Tremco does a great job at recruiting. We also have a RISE program, which is a... it's right out of the University of Akron and it gives people the chance to get an education and work for Tremco at the same time. They pay for your education. It's great. It's another way to just get your foot in the door while also getting your degree at the same time.

They're always trying to find ways to attract younger people because it's not easy and roofing isn't something where you're going to go to a preschool class and suddenly, they say, "I want to be a roofer one day." That doesn't happen very often, but I feel like Tremco has created such a great group of people that are out there trying to find and make it more of an attractive career.

I've attended a few colleges to speak as well, couple career fairs here and there and I think it helps when they see young people that are in the company. It becomes more relatable. It's less scary, so I think Tremco does a great job at allowing people like me to be a part of those experiences because like I said, it helps relate and it makes it easier to understand and hearing words from someone that's closer to your age always helps. So they've definitely made it a great opportunity and allowed me to help and my younger coworkers as well. It's been great.

Megan Ellsworth: That's awesome. I love it. I know. Who would've thought we'd be so passionate about roofing?

Grace Kormos: Right? It feels so nerdy sometimes.

Megan Ellsworth: I know.

Grace Kormos: I point out cranes and stuff outside and I'm like, "I'm nerding out. Just let me be."

Megan Ellsworth: I'm pointing out roofs. I'm like, "Oh, look at that one."

Grace Kormos: Yeah. I'm like, "Oh, they need a little work on that one" or something like that.

Megan Ellsworth: Totally.

Grace Kormos: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Okay. So I have two questions left. This has flown by. How do you see the future of the roofing industry evolving, especially for women?

Grace Kormos: I think it goes hand in hand with what I said about seeing the amount of women and young women just pursuing the careers, getting that major, getting your education in construction. It's just continuing to grow. Construction, whether it's roofing, whether it's building envelope, we need roads, we need buildings. Those buildings need roofs. It's never going away. So it's one of those things where you just got to put your mind to it and think you can do it. I think it's going to continue to grow. Every city you go into is expanding, and it's not expanding without people that are going to put those buildings together and put those roofs on. So I think it's just going to keep growing and I'm excited. Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: It's exciting.

Grace Kormos: It is.

Megan Ellsworth: So lastly, what are some resources or communities, I know we mentioned National Women in Roofing, that you have found helpful throughout your career that you would suggest other people check out?

Grace Kormos: One of my greatest resources is always my coworkers. I feel like I have such great conversations with them and just can relate and I'm always talking to them, keeping up with those that I don't see all the time. So using your resources, whether it be your friends, your family, just creating those great relationships and feeling like you can have those conversations, whether it's just at a grocery store, at a bar or wherever you may be. Just being able to network is always a blessing. That's one of my favorite things, my coworkers, all of that.

Second would be LinkedIn. I have LinkedIn on my phone, and I honestly scroll on it like I do any other social media. I don't follow anyone in specific detail that I love or am passionate about just what they put out there, but more so just seeing what my coworkers are reposting and stuff like that and reading articles. And not only am I giving myself the chance to learn more about roofing or just general construction, but then you're also getting other people's perspectives, which I think is great because it helps you realize where you're at in your career and also may open you up to realize things that you could work on to be a better coworker or things like that. So definitely getting involved in stuff like LinkedIn or just networking. It's such a great tool.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely.

Grace Kormos: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Well, Grace, this has been so fun.

Grace Kormos: Yeah, I appreciate it.

Megan Ellsworth: I hope you know we're friends now.

Grace Kormos: Yes.

Megan Ellsworth: So you can't get rid of me.

Grace Kormos: That's awesome.

Megan Ellsworth: I'll see you at the next National Women Roofing event.

Grace Kormos: Yes, yes. Please hold me to it.

Megan Ellsworth: Yes, I will. So, thank you again so much.

Grace Kormos: Of course.

Megan Ellsworth: This has been super insightful. I hope everyone out there has been taking notes and getting just great insights from this because I did. Thanks again, and this has been Roofing Road Trips. You can learn all sorts of stuff from Roofing Road Trips wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also find out more about WTI and Tremco on their directories on rooferscoffeeshop.com.

Outro: This has been a Roofing Road Trip, and we'll see you on the next one.

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