Tyler District Engineer Mary Owens Oversees Roads and Waterways
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Mary Owen can remember as a toddler sitting smack-dab in between her mom and dad in the car‚ holding onto maps and playing navigator every where they went.
So it seems appropriate she grew up to become Tyler’s district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation – the second female district engineer in TxDOT’s history.
“My daddy was a rocket scientist‚ and he told me that‚ to take care of myself in the business world‚ I should either become a doctor‚ a lawyer or an engineer‚” Owen recalls with a laugh. “So I took the lesser of three evils.”
After earning her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1982‚ Owen became an engineering assistant for TxDOT’s Dallas District. She was appointed district engineer of the El Paso district in 1993 and became Tyler’s district engineer in 1995.
“Engineering was always a male-dominated occupation‚ but I wasn’t really intimidated even though I knew it would be challenging‚” Owen says. “It’s great being a woman in this position‚ because I’m surrounded by high-achieving men. They haven’t put me down because I’m a woman. It’s about the person‚ not the gender.”
Owen enjoys civil engineering because “it’s very practical.”
“Infrastructure‚ roadways and waterways are built by civil engineers‚” she says. “We’re sitting in a position to help everybody every day – whether it’s in getting to school or getting to work.”
A recent accomplishment Owen is proud of is the opening of State Highway Loop 49 in Tyler‚ an effort she says took the support‚ cooperation and leadership of the Tyler community.
“This is a stellar community and a wonderful place to live‚” Owen says. “My job is to make sure people feel welcomed in Tyler and have a good trip through it.”
Story by Jessica Mozo
