Maggie Leider, ASP
Safety Coordinator
Horwitz LLC
ABOUT maggie:
What drew me to a career in safety was my dad. My dad was a safety professional and originally worked for MnDOT, then moved on to work as the Property and Risk Manager for the Duluth Public School District. To get his career started, he went through the safety program at the University of Minnesota – Duluth in the early 80’s and encouraged me to do the same when I graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Superior with a degree in Transportation and Logistics Management. Being the super smart, fresh college graduate I was… I wanted to start working right away and ignored the recommendation. I worked in the transportation industry for a couple years and after sitting behind a desk they entire time, I realized a more hands-on job may be better for me. I ended up applying for the safety program at UMD in July 2021, started classes that September, was graduated with a Master of Environment Health and Safety degree, and working as a Safety Coordinator for Horwitz by May 2022 and I have never looked back.
After I had been in school for a few weeks, one of the professors asked the class what industry we thought we would enjoy working in after we graduated based on what we had learned so far and most everyone, me included, said something in general industry. That stayed true until the second semester when I started the construction safety course. I found myself looking forward to that class the most each week. The way the professor taught the class made safety more interesting, showing that it takes problem solving, critical thinking, and “common sense”. The class completely changed the way I thought about construction safety and made it more inviting than intimidating.
What I like most about the safety and construction industry together is they are always changing and there are always opportunities to learn. When I was in college, I told my parents if I could get paid to go to school, I would be a student for the rest of my life. That is totally what the construction safety industry has brought to me. There are always seminars to go to, certifications to obtain, and conferences to attend with new safety topics, updated standards, and new products to learn about. It is also a great mix of office and field work. I get the experience of working in an office, but I also get to visit construction sites and create relationships with our tradespeople.
I learn something new every day, either about myself or about the construction/safety industry. Like I said, that is why I enjoy this industry so much. I feel like I am getting paid to learn and get to apply everything I learn to my job.