From a volunteer to a team member, ABES Engineering’s newest engineer is thrilled to be back and ready to make a difference in the community through engineering.
Grace Souder has joined ABES as a Project Engineer. Her first official day was Oct. 2, but Souder has a much longer history with ABES.
Souder, who grew up in Kansas City, attended the United States Naval Academy in Maryland, studying systems engineering. After two years, she transferred to North Florida University in Jacksonville to explore other engineering options. She chose civil engineering because she liked the idea of “seeing something created in front of you.” She graduated from North Florida in 2011.
Over the next few years, life happened. Souder and her husband, William, married. They had children. William’s career with the U.S. Navy meant the family lived in various cities throughout the United States. But in 2020, they landed in Memphis.
This is when Souder first connected with ABES and its CEO, Emmanuel Tuombe.
With a pandemic ongoing and young children at home, Souder was looking for ways to connect to the engineering community in Memphis. Using LinkedIn, she discovered Tuombe and his growing company. “I messaged him at some point and let him know that I’d love to hear more about what he was doing.”
Tuombe responded and the two began to interact through LinkedIn. Not yet ready to jump into a job due to the age of her youngest child, Souder instead volunteered to help out ABES in any way needed. “I could just see he had such an amazing vision,” she says.
Tuombe was equally enthused about Souder. “When I first met Grace I was impressed with her as a person and the journey she had been on and her willingness to reach out to me and see what ABES could be instead of what ABES was at the time,” he says. “We didn’t have a nice website, and I only had a few team members. She helped with our website and led our Interns from Christian Brothers University.”
Eventually, Souder finished her volunteer work with ABES and returned to everyday life. She had a third baby and took master’s classes in civil engineering through Johns Hopkins University. She was out of the workforce for four years. “Having kids … and continuing to support my husband in his military career … This was the longest stint I’d ever been home and not working outside the home,” she says.
Earlier this year, Souder says she happened across a LinkedIn post from Tuombe, talking about the growth in ABES Engineering. When Souder volunteered for ABES, Tuombe had a handful of staff. Today, ABES has a staff of eighteen and is growing quickly. It has major contracts with a range of clients, from the City of Memphis to Nashville Metro.
Souder reached out to Tuombe, congratulating him for his company’s growth. At the time, she was looking for work with a large firm to strengthen her skills and get more experience. “I told him I was looking to work at a bigger company, but one day I wanted to come back and work for him. I told him ‘You own the company that I dream of working for.’”
The two began talking again. Tuombe invited her to lunch with his team to “catch up.” Then, he invited her to a second lunch with other team members. “That’s when I thought maybe he was interviewing me,” she says with a laugh.
“I knew Grace thought she needed more experience before she could join our team, but I had a feeling she would be a good fit for us right now,” says Tuombe. “She’s smart, talented, dedicated and eager. She embraces our philosophy of making our communities stronger through engineering.
“Grace also has an international background which impressed me, having lived across different regions of the US and even lived internationally. Recently I found out that she speaks Spanish as well which is quite amazing. It’s not everyday that you find an engineer who speaks different languages, is a songwriter, can play piano, is raising a family and is in tune with making an impact in the community. With those qualities, I knew that Grace would do great and any organization she would be part of, she will make it great.”
When Tuombe offered Souder a job, she didn’t hesitate. After meeting his team, she saw that the depth of experience and expertise was extraordinary. “They all have this vast, longstanding engineering experience,” she says. “I feel like I have so much to learn but I’m eager. And they are there to help me learn.”
She also loves the culture of the ABES team. “When I think about Emmanuel and ABES, I think about people,” she says. “All of the employees say the same thing: ‘Emmanuel is the best person I’ve ever worked for.’ That’s the resounding response from everyone on the staff.”
Souder says ABES truly is an Engineering Firm with Soul. “I really feel that,” she says. “What people love is just the hope, the positivity, and the ability to get the job done well … It seems like the sky’s the limit for ABES … It’s exciting.”
When Souder isn’t working as an engineer, she spends time as a songwriter. She’s published music and done “a lot of collaborative songwriting, including in Nashville,” she says. Despite her busy life with William, their three children, Jaren, Josiah and Josie, and her new job with ABES, she plans to continue writing songs as it’s become such an important part of her life. “I’ll definitely keep writing,” she says. “It’s my alter-life.”
As for the trajectory of her career, from a stay-at-home mom to a volunteer with ABES to a member of its staff, she knows it may not be the norm. But she’s confident she’s on the right path. “I’ve had a really nontraditional route … But I don’t think that’s a bad thing anymore. It adds perspective and value. And it puts me in a position to learn,” she says.
“I’m just really happy to be back at ABES and can’t wait to make a difference.”
Tuombe feels confident that Souder will make the ABES team even better, plus he’s excited to have another musician join the team. “Now on our team we have a songwriter, a drummer, pianist, singer, guitarist … we might form an ABES band soon and have fun while we make our community strong,” he says. “It’s amazing the talent we have at ABES from all walks of life and having Grace onboard will continue to make our team stronger.”