MAY SPOTLIGHT
Rhiannon Hornberger

Rhi is a surveyor and CAD technician currently supporting our Fall Creek Fish Hatchery project. She joined us in March and is a dynamic addition to the JR Merit family, bringing a background as a union carpenter with expertise in building forms and doing layout as well as experience in coding and software development.

Before getting into construction, Rhi pursued a degree in nursing while working as a certified nursing assistant and then as a traveling dialysis technician. “I saw some interesting parts of the country this way, from Arizona to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.”

In looking for her next path, Rhi’s husband suggested she look into the construction field to complement her love of being outside and for hands-on projects. Inspired by the idea, she joined the Carpenter’s Union as an apprentice and quickly excelled in the field, earning her journeyman credentials a year and a half early in 2018, honored as Carpenter Apprentice of the Year by the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute in 2019, and completing multiple leadership training classes.

At 5’1” and carrying tools that are nearly half her weight, first impressions can be deceiving, but from her very first assignment, Rhi has been setting the record straight by demonstrating her ability. “My first call out, I was assigned to a wood framing job in downtown Portland. I met the superintendent and he immediately said, ‘I don’t think this is going to work but I can’t send you away, so when you decide this isn’t for you, we’ll make the exit as easy as possible.’  I ended up staying with this superintendent through this job and another one, completing my third apprenticeship term with him, and he wrote me a letter of recommendation.”

Many women in construction can recount similar experiences, but Rhi stays focused on getting the job done. “Especially if you’re a small woman, you have to be more diligent at making sure you get to do the work you signed up to do. You can end up placed on a crew that does small pickup work or with a boss trying to chase you out by giving you the hardest stuff to make you realize this isn’t for you. Or sometimes you get on a really good team and a superintendent that sees people for their skills and finds an advantageous place for you. The job is difficult and physically heavy; gender doesn’t matter. If you can do it, great, and if you can’t, there’s other options.”

During her apprenticeship, Rhi worked closely with superintendent Jason Askim, who joined JR Merit in early 2022 and was one such team leader who saw Rhi for her abilities. “He called me and said JR Merit could use someone with my skills. And here I am!”

With project-based work comes opportunities to see new places, yet the challenges of a variable schedule and changing locations can be tough. However, Rhi’s favorite part about working in this industry is all the different kinds of projects she gets to work on. “I’ve done wood frame glulam buildings and concrete, I got to work on a cancer research center, I’ve done high rises—flying tables is probably one of my favorite things; it’s high energy and fast paced.” She’s also worked on data centers and light rail projects, completing surveying work for a new station for Seattle’s Link light rail. And now she’s adding a fish hatchery to her list of unique project experiences!

Inspired by always learning new things, Rhi’s continuing on her path of lifelong learning and currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, with plans to go on to a masters

in robotics. During the pandemic, she and her husband both did a coding bootcamp program, which sparked Rhi’s interest in robotics, especially in agriculture. “I’m interested in how we can use robotics to do the most dangerous and repetitive stuff that isn’t good for human longevity, and to eliminate challenges with human error and rework.”

We love Rhi’s curiosity and love of learning, and the dedication she brings to her work. Rhi, thank you for your passion for continuous improvement—of yourself, your projects, and the future of this industry and others through robotic innovation!