Women’s History Month honors the achievements of women across the globe, past and present. Laura Rudolph ’09 is one of those women making positive contributions in the construction industry. The architectural engineering and environmental engineering alumna was recently named to Milwaukee Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” for her contributions in her profession and Southeastern Wisconsin.
“It was an honor to be named in this year’s Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40,” said Rudolph. “There are so many amazing and influential people that have earned this award and I’m very humbled to be considered among them. It still hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”
Rudolph is a design phase executive at Mortenson Construction where she has been for all her career. She originally started out in the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) project management area.
“I was fortunate to carry all of the knowledge and experience from MSOE into my role. At Mortenson, I continued to learn from our trade partners, architects, engineers, our Mortenson team and many other mentors along the way that helped shape my career.”
Rudolph’s pursuit of engineering started with her interest in the technical aspects of her science and math classes as well as hands-on learning opportunities in a high school interior design class.
She decided to enroll in MSOE because of the architectural engineering and construction management program and ability to closely work with her professors within small class sizes. Rudolph moved from her hometown of Dubuque, Iowa to Milwaukee and was excited for what MSOE and the city had to offer.
While at MSOE, Rudolph became involved in numerous clubs and activities including American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), concrete canoe and the women’s cross country team. She also studied abroad at Czech Technical University during her junior year.
“There is no better way to learn about architectural history than to see it in person. Being able to immerse yourself in a completely different culture for six months opens your eyes to the world in refreshing way. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and highly recommend it.”
As she furthered in her studies and internship experiences, Rudolph also made the decision to continue her education and earn her master’s degree from MSOE.
“As I continued learning about the MEP systems that make a building work, I also became intrigued by how those same systems can affect the external environment – hence me going for my master’s in environmental engineering. As an added bonus, I could get my master’s degree with only one extra year of school.”
Rudolph resides in the Milwaukee area with her husband, son and daughter. Her husband is also an architectural engineering graduate from MSOE (class of 2008). Their family enjoys spending time outside visiting parks, hiking, biking and during the winter months sledding and snowshoeing. Rudolph enjoys trail running and is currently training for her first marathon.
Outside of working, she also volunteers with local organizations. Those include: The Wisconsin Healthcare Engineering Association (WHEA), International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and the Autism Society of Southeastern Wisconsin (ASSEW).
