Photo By Ashley Snipes | Shawn Williams is an engineering technician with OICC Florence... read more read more
Engineering Technician Shawn Williams’ career path has always been motivated by family, and now he is building a bigger family with Officer in Charge of Construction Florence.
Williams, a Jacksonville NC native, grew up around construction and has gravitated toward the skilled trades throughout his life. His father owned his own construction business and performed structural work around Jacksonville for many years. When he passed, Williams’ older siblings took over the company and slowly taught him the many facets of construction while Williams was growing up. But Williams didn’t move into the family business right after high school and instead, joined the Army.
“I was infantry at first,” said Williams. “I did two years on active and then I went reserve for six years.”
While in the Reserves, Williams attended Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, N.C. where he earned his associate degree in science and was able to intern with an industrial manufacturing company. He eventually became an operations manager and stayed with the company for five years.
When the recession hit, Williams pivoted to the Information Technology field, using his Bachelor of Science in IT for a few years, updating operating systems for companies.
“There was always that little hunger and desire to get back into construction,” said Williams. “My brother took over the family business and he called me and said ‘hey, I need you.’”
Williams had a strong pull toward family and was at a point where he wanted to do what he loved with the ones he loves. He started taking a few classes to get him ready to be back on a work site, and
eventually was working all over Eastern North Carolina, including on base near the sites he works on now. Williams then saw an opportunity to move toward into government work and couldn’t pass it up.
“I got hired with UBT in December 2019 and started in January 2020,” said Williams. “I was with them for a little over two years and official came onboard [with NAVFAC] on March 2022.”
The transition to being a civil servant was smooth for Williams because of the relationships he had already built inside and outside OICC Florence. Those relationships helped him right away on his first project at MCAS New River, AS515, which quickly turned into an exercise in patience and overcoming challenges.
“You get to know to know so many people that are willing to help,” said Williams. “I include the entire base as my support system, you know?”
With his feet securely underneath him, Williams is taking advantage of the many education opportunities NAVFAC provides to improve his skillset and make him a valuable asset to OICC Florence.
“I recently took a crane course and am hoping to get into some electrical classes,” said Williams. “And I’ll continue to learn as much as I can from my supervisor, Bill Farnell, and some of the more seasoned ET’s here…we have some of the best here and they’ve taught me a lot.”
Aside from being mentors, the OICC Florence MCAS New River team members are also Williams’ work family.
“I love the camaraderie, you know? Everyone gets along, and even though sometimes we butt heads, it
feels like a family,” said Williams. “Even when you don’t have good days they can tell and they check on you. You don’t always get that elsewhere.”
Williams is grateful for his work family and their dedication to helping each other push the OICC Florence mission forward.
“I’m thankful and grateful to whomever chose me to be a part of NAVFAC as a civil servant,” said Williams. “I knew from day one I wanted to be a part of OICC, I just didn’t know how to navigate to it. I
figured if I was patient and worked hard, eventually someone would see it; and here I am.”
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2023 14:24 |
| Story ID: | 453260 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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