Cory Jones Full Interview

First Nations civil and structural engineer and project manager Cory Jones describes his introduction to engineering practice when, as a high-school student, he was employed by a contractor to help oversee the construction of a water-treatment plant in his home community of Cape Croker, Ontario. He found summer jobs while an undergraduate student at Western University and joined R. J. Burnside and Associates Ltd. after he graduated in 1997. He started as a structural designer of infrastructure, including water treatment reservoirs and buildings, and community arenas and recreation facilities, to be constructed for Indigenous communities across Canada. He is now the President of Neegan-Burnside, an offshoot of R.J. Burnside and Associates Ltd., that designs and manages infrastructure projects for First Nations across Canada. He describes in detail the values held at these two firms as being consistent with those a small family-owned and family-oriented business, and also with his own personal beliefs coming from his indigenous background. He advises high-school students interested in a career in engineering to get practical experiences in construction as summer work, and encourages new engineering graduates to learn from the experiences and knowledge of their senior colleagues at their first engineering job. He answers the question "Tell us about the projects you've worked on" by describing the impact that completed water treatment and recreation facility have on the First Nations communities that they serve. He describes his satisfaction to be able to work in an engineering role to help provide such facilities to communities that need them. In response to the question "Is there anything else you want to say", he expresses his desire that the Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents of Canada can work together to provide help and support for those who need it.