I met Abbey on my first day at HOK. She sat across the [low] wall from me and…had just a few months earlier swiped the job I’d been coveting for about a year! Turns out, Abbey was a much better candidate for that particular position and I ended up in a position that was perfect for me. Gold star to HOK! Anyway, you should know that Abbey’s a superstar urban planner for the HOK Planning Group. Not too long ago, she and her hubby abandoned DC for her home state of Texas A fantastic mom to her newborn baby (and also her not-so-newborn kitty), and all around great person, Abbey is a fabulous, funny, brilliant colleague – the DC crew misses her tremendously and are thankful for opportunities to work together on remote teams!
Read on to learn more about the inspirational Abbey Roberson:
Abbey and Holden Roberson
Q: You’re a brand new mom. What is it like coming back from maternity leave?
People say that you never know what is really like to be a parent until it actually happens and I honestly believe that to be true now. I absolutely, completely, and totally love being a mom and overall it is much easier than I thought. I will admit that I have turned into ‘that mom’ that thinks her child is the cutest and loves taking pictures of him, but I have decided to embrace it.
It was never a question in my mind if I would return to the office. While I loved being at home and spending time with my son, I did miss working and my job at HOK. I guess each makes you grateful for the other and I do appreciate being lucky enough to enjoy both aspects of my life.
Strangely enough, the transition has been easier than I anticipated. We don’t have our routine completely refined yet (it has only been a week and a half), but I’m working on it. I’m just taking things day-by-day, going with the flow and laughing when things don’t go “as planned!” Being a mom is a fun and challenging learning experience every day (well and during the middle of the night too)!
Q: What do you do when you’re not at HOK?
Being a mom has been taking up a lot of my time recently; however, I also spend my down time volunteering with the Junior League of Houston, hanging out with friends and family and I’ll admit it – shopping. My true passion is that I love, love, love to travel. Exotic trips, work trips, short trips, trips with friends – I love planning all types of trips. I think sometimes that I actually enjoy thinking about where I’d like to go just as much as actually going.
We have already been on two road trips with my son, but my current debate and research focuses on where to take him on his first flight. I’m open to suggestions if anyone has some good ideas for me!
Abbey and her husband Kyle in Croatia
Abbey and Kyle in France
Q: You’ve worked in multiple HOK offices. How have your experiences differed? What’s constant?
Over the course of my six years at HOK I have been fortunate enough to work in three offices – Atlanta, Washington, DC and now Houston. Each of the offices does have a bit of a different feel to them – some are more buttoned up while others are more laid back, but all of the offices have an energy about them. I love the buzz and excitement that takes place when there’s a design competition going on or a last minute change before a big pitch to a potential client. There is always something happening to keep you on your toes. I always say that I’d much rather be busy than bored at work!
Q: What is your favorite part of working at HOK?
Working with the Planning Group has been incredible and I love the experiences that I have had in my career. It is hard to pinpoint just one favorite aspect of working at HOK so I’ll narrow it to three. First, I love the variety of projects that I have worked on here. Sometimes I’ll be working on a 350 acre master plan and the next day I’ll be looking at a 3 acre infill student housing project. You never know what is going to come up next. Second, I love the fact that the Planning Group pulls together the right team for the project. It means that I have the opportunity to travel and work with people in other offices on a regular basis. While my travels have not always been glamorous, I have been lucky to go to London and Shanghai in recent years. Finally, there are so many talented people that work at HOK and it is amazing when multiple disciplines collaborate on a single effort. I have learned a lot from working alongside architects, landscape architects and other planners, and I believe that seeing a range of perspectives makes me a better professional in the long run.
Abbey at YuYuan Garden in Shanghai
Q: Tell us about one of your favorite projects. Or your least favorite.
By far, my favorite project that I’ve ever worked on is the plan for Downtown Kentlands in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was similar to several other projects that I had worked on before and completed since; however, it came at right time in my career. I had just finished up working on KAUST which required weekly travel between Washington DC and Houston for seven months so I wanted to work on a project at home in the DC Metro area.
I approached Suzette Goldstein and Colin Greene to tell them that I wanted to go after the project and they said, “Great! Go for it!” It was the first time that I had my hand in every aspect of a project from writing the proposal to the interview to actually seeing the project through completion. They helped me when I asked for it, but allowed me to truly manage the effort and ‘run the show.’ For me, it was great to receive that kind of support from my mentors and have the opportunity to take charge of my own career. No project is ever perfect, but for me, this one comes pretty close.
This is part of HOK’s ongoing series highlighting inspirational women across the firm!