ABES Engineering is pleased to welcome Esaya Sengiyumva to its growing inspection team.
As an inspector, Sengiyumva is working on the MS4 Program for Shelby County. The program involves mapping the location of inlets, storm drains and pipe connections; measuring and recording the sizes and elevations of the stormwater structures; and checking the condition of inlets and pipes throughout Shelby County.
“Esaya is a great addition to the ABES team,” says Jason Black, CEI Manager. “He’s excited to learn and enjoys the work. He brings a lot to our team, and I see a bright future for him.”
Sengiyumva says he first learned about ABES through a friend who happened to know ABES CEO Emmanuel Tuombe. The connection led to a lunch with Black and eventually a meeting with Tuombe. “One of my goals is to find great talent and people who are interested in construction and engineering inspection so that we can give them an opportunity,” Tuombe says. “When I met with Esaya, I learned about his work ethic. I learned about his journey. And I was impressed, and I felt like ABES would be a great place for him. And he can add value to what we are doing.”
Sengiyumva says he immediately liked Tuombe and was impressed with the company and the ultimate goal of making the community stronger through engineering. He also felt a connection to Tuombe, who is originally from Rwanda, Africa.
Sengiyumva is a native of Uganda, Africa. His family immigrated to Memphis when he was 12. Though he essentially grew up in Memphis, Sengiyumva says the family continues to hold on to Ugandan traditions and language. In addition to English, he speaks Kinyarwanda and Swahili.
At ABES, the diverse team of 18 professionals collectively speaks 13 languages, from Italian to Arabic and many more. That’s one of the things Sengiyumva enjoys about working with the team. “Everybody speaks different languages,” he says. “It feels great. I love making new friends. That’s the most important thing. To have good communication with the people I work with.”
Sengiyumva has goals to eventually return to college to become a software engineer. But for now, he’s happy to be a part of the ABES team. “I love it,” he says of the work. “It’s outside, it’s interesting and I’m learning a lot.”
“We have a plan,” Tuombe says. “We will provide him with training for getting various certifications for construction inspection, but also, he has a vision to one day become an engineer. So, him being surrounded by other professionals, by engineers, people who have gone through the journey he’s trying to go through, I think that will be inspirational, and we can support him. I’m very pleased that we can make an impact in other people’s lives through the opportunities we have.”
Sengiyumva lives in Memphis with his partner, Sarah, and their two children, 4-year-old Giana and 4-month-old Isaiah.
