![\"\"](\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Family-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBalancing work and life can be difficult, especially for a young professional trying to establish their career while starting a family.<\/p>\n
Wendy Reyes with Orange County Public Works knows this struggle as well as anyone.\u00a0 She started her career with the County in 2017 after graduating from Valencia College with an AS degree in Civil Engineering and got married that same year.<\/p>\n
In 2019, Reyes gave birth to twin boys and her perspective on her career changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything changed,\u201d said Reyes. \u201cAll of a sudden, we needed a bigger apartment, a bigger car, double the diapers, double the formula, we needed double the everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes knew that to provide the best life for her growing family, she needed to further her education, and for her, that meant finishing her Civil Engineering degree.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe needs of our family were greater than what I could provide, and I realized that I had to become more to be able to provide more,\u201d said Reyes. \u201cI decided that I needed to go to go back to school to become an engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2022, Reyes enrolled at the University of Central Florida, utilizing the County\u2019s Educational and Professional Reimbursement Program.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the three years it took me to finish my degree, I would leave my house before the kids were awake, spend my day at the office before classes, then finally see my kids after school just in time for the daily dinner-shower-bedtime routine,\u201d said Reyes.\u00a0 \u201cThere were days I did not think I could continue this journey that I had started but my family was counting on me.\u201d<\/p>\n
While providing a better life for her family was the motivation for completing her degree, for Reyes it was also a way for her to honor her family and the sacrifices they made to give her a better life.\u00a0 In May 2025, Reyes completed her degree, earning her BS in Civil Engineering.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandmother, who grew up in the Dominican Republic and only received middle school education, and my parents, who only received high school educations, all got to see me walk across the UCF stage and receive my Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, said Reyes. \u201cThe look of pride and genuine joy on their faces meant the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within weeks of graduating, Reyes received multiple different job offers before ultimately accepting a promotion with Orange County Public Works as an Assistant Project Manager in the Traffic Engineering division.<\/p>\n
Her role focuses on ensuring ADA compliance. She helps plan and manage projects aimed at creating accessible transportation infrastructure. Her responsibilities include developing budgets and schedules, conducting research and evaluations related to barrier removal, and coordinating with contractors and other departments. In addition, she oversees public outreach efforts, responds to citizen requests, and maintains databases to support the timely resolution of accessibility issues.<\/p>\n
Reyes added, “As a parent of special needs children, this role is important to me as it ensures our projects improve access for individuals like my kids, as well as all members of our community.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Balancing work and life can be difficult, especially for a young professional trying to establish their career while starting a family. Wendy Reyes with Orange County Public Works knows this struggle as well as anyone.\u00a0 She started her career with the County in 2017 after graduating from Valencia College with an AS degree in Civil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":22902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-22900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-services","tag-public-works"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n