## [A values-driven approach to engineering](/spotlight/student/values-driven-approach-to-engineering) ![Sathika](/sites/default/files/styles/max_480w/public/spotlight-images/2025-10/sathika.jpg.webp?itok=_EinCui2) ## Sathika Witharana Share- [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2F"e= "Share on Facebook") - [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?source=https%3A%2F%2F&text=:%20https%3A%2F%2F "Tweet") - [ ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2F&title=&summary=&source=https%3A%2F%2F "Share on LinkedIn") - [ ](mailto:?subject=&body=:%20https%3A%2F%2F "Send email") - **Degree:** - Bachelor of Applied Science - **Grad year:** 2019 - **Program:** - [Civil Engineering](https://engineering.ubc.ca/programs/undergraduate/civil-engineering "Find out more about Civil Engineering") - **Campus:** Okanagan **Job:** Engineer, Structural Asset Management, BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure *For Sathika, engineering is a values-driven profession that enables her to make a difference. She exemplifies this in her work for the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, where she manages projects to ensure the safety of bridges and culverts. She also volunteers her time mentoring students through Engineers in Action, which has included travelling to Eswatini to build a 73-metre suspended bridge completely by hand and link a community to health care and education.* ## **How did you end up studying civil engineering at UBC Okanagan?** In high school, I definitely did not know how I wanted to spend the next four or five decades of my working life! I was good in math and liked physics, so I thought I’d test out engineering. I chose UBC Okanagan because I wanted to live in an outdoorsy place where I’d be close to nature for skiing and hiking. I also liked the idea of being on a smaller campus where it would be easier to get to know my professors and classmates. As for civil engineering, I wanted a field where there was a wide range of job opportunities. To be honest, until I began my co-op positions, I wasn’t entirely sure engineering was the best choice. > My co-op experiences were great learning opportunities and enabled me to understand the breadth of options available to me in engineering. ## **What were some of your co-op experiences?** I got my first co-op position by knocking on a prof’s door and asking if I could be his research assistant. I worked for him as a surveyor, and this field work experience helped me get my next position at a municipal government. At the City of Richmond, I was responsible for reviewing building permit applications, preparing estimates for upgrading utility service connections and culvert designs and conducting inspections with city inspectors.I liked being out in the field and learning on construction sites. That led me to pursue my next positions in heavy construction, where I worked for different contracting companies. This included moving to northern Alberta where I worked with Syncrude Canada to find cost efficiencies for the Mildred Lake mine and in Red Deer as a field engineer for the Highway 2 interchange project. ## **Tell us about the first few jobs you had after you graduated in 2019.** I began working for Flatiron Construction as a field engineer on the Site C Dam in Fort St. John. This was a very intense, productivity-driven project that included managing pours for some of the headworks segment. > A highlight of this job was getting to work with non-engineers, including tradespeople, because you learn so much from the different perspectives. After that, I worked for a smaller contracting company doing project coordination for land development projects. In 2022, I began working with the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, where I am now focusing on the delivery of infrastructure projects from the public sector point of view. ## **Tell us about your career progression at the Ministry of Transportation!** I started off on the [Cariboo Road Recovery Projects](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation-projects/cariboo-road-recovery-projects), a group of 10 projects to mitigate risk in an area that has been hard hit by landslides and road washouts. One highlight of being at the ministry is that you get to work with some of the best consultants who bring incredible expertise in geotechnical engineering and highway design to our projects. We collaborate together in a multidisciplinary style to come up with solutions to keep the province’s highways as safe as possible. I take on a project construction management role, deciding if the solutions the consultants have arrived at are the right choice for the ministry, provide the best value for infrastructure, will mitigate the issue we are concerned about, and take into account long-term maintenance issues. Working at the ministry has also enabled me to try out different roles. To gain some of the design experience I need to qualify for my PEng, I’ve moved into a structural engineering position with the asset renewable group. This team looks after about 2,000 bridges and culverts within the southern interior region of the province. My work includes load rating (making sure the structures are safe to drive on), doing joint designs, managing inventory, conducting enhanced inspections, and working with consultants when we’ve decided that a structure needs replacing or rehabilitation . [Cariboo Road Recovery Projects](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation-projects/cariboo-road-recovery-projects) ## **What do you like best about your job?** > I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing these projects come to life and knowing they are serving the people of BC—it’s very rewarding to know that our infrastructure is safe for the public. I really enjoy the process of project delivery management, including budgeting. It’s a nice balance of the technical engineering piece with other aspects of project delivery. ## **You’ve been very involved with the group Engineers in Action. Can you tell us about this?** I have always wanted to use my educational background to make an impact in smaller communities. My parents are immigrants from Sri Lanka and I recognize the privilege I’ve had growing up in Canada. In 2023, I became involved as a bridge corps mentor with [Engineers In Action](https://www.linkedin.com/company/engineers-in-action-okanagan/), an organization that builds critical infrastructure in developing countries. After a period of significant fundraising and mentoring, I travelled to Eswatini with students from McGill University, University of Southern Indiana and Oregon State University. We spent 10 weeks building a 74-metre suspended bridge by hand, working alongside people from the community, who now benefit from easier access to health care services, food markets and a school. I then teamed up with another Bridge Corp mentor to start a chapter at UBC Okanagan. Last year we had a team of 20 active members who successfully designed and delivered a footbridge in Bolivia. I look forward to seeing the students at UBCO continuously impacting communities in need with their engineering skills and knowledge. ![eia](/sites/default/files/styles/square_200/public/2025-10/eia_picture.jpeg.webp?itok=VBO3babM) [Engineers In Action](https://www.linkedin.com/company/engineers-in-action-okanagan/) ## **Any advice for engineering students just starting out at UBC?** Stay curious and don’t limit yourself to one preconceived path! There are many options within engineering and there is so much that you can do with your degree. And if you’re interested in a very rewarding and impactful experience, consider joining the UBC Okanagan chapter of Engineers in Action! ### Find me on: [ LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sathika-witharana-pmp-2b8348111/ "LinkedIn") [ UBC Civil Engineering ![UBC Civil Engineering logo](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2026-02/ubc-civil-engineering-logo-shortname-486x45.png.webp?itok=0sSPBmhK) ](https://civil.ubc.ca "UBC Civil Engineering") [ UBC School of Engineering (Okanagan) ![UBC School of Engineering (Okanagan) logo](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2026-02/ubco-school-of-engineering-logo-shortname-368x32.jpg.webp?itok=DOxRPlwI) ](https://engineering.ok.ubc.ca "UBC School of Engineering (Okanagan)") - [Alumni](/topics/alumni "Alumni") - [Alumni Success](/topics/alumni-success "Alumni Success") - [Engineering](/topics/engineering "Engineering") - [Women in Engineering](/topics/women-in-engineering "Women in Engineering")