Garret Parkinson – EIT, Design Engineer

Meet one of our newer engineers as part of our team: Garrett Parkinson!

While Garrett was born in Simi Valley CA, he and his family would end up moving around a few times throughout his childhood. First up to Danville, CA (in the San Francisco area), then up to Bellevue, WA, and then back to Simi Valley again to be close to family. “We always loved the Pacific Northwest which is why my wife and I decided to move our family up here in 2020,” Garrett shares.

Garrett earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. “If you need a place to visit in California, I strongly recommend San Luis Obispo (SLO). The food, wine, beaches, and hikes make for a great place to take the family. Fun fact: SLO is home to my all-time favorite meal; the Nashville Club from High Street Deli!”

His first job ever was working as an umpire for little league baseball, starting at the age of 12 and continuing throughout high school. “Little League parents and coaches can be quite abrasive, so this job taught me to be calm, confident, and direct while dealing with conflict at an early age. I love the game of baseball so getting paid was the icing on the cake!”

Garrett started in the industry working in construction for a couple of years in 2014 until he transitioned to a part-time structural engineering job in 2016 while he finished his degree. It’s been 2 years since Garrett joined DEI, “and I am thankful for the wonderful team I get to work with every day.”

He is currently working on several repair projects including concrete cracks on commercial buildings, wood rot repair for both single and multi-family residential, and a general assessment of a steel/concrete tram support system that was installed over thirty years ago. He’s also providing construction support services for a three-story wood-framed single-family residence remodel that he has been working on: “The home faces the Puget Sound and the owners wanted to maximize their view of the water. We worked with Simpson Strong-Tie to specify a two-story Strong-Frame moment frame with their proprietary Yield-Link beam-to-column connections. I got to be onsite to observe the moment frame erection and was impressed with how quickly the Yield-Link connections were installed.”

When it comes to who influences him the most about his approach to work, Garrett is forever grateful to his father for instilling in him and his siblings a hard work ethic and a can-do attitude. “His approach to work focuses on building lasting relationships and providing creative solutions to unique problems. My goal has been to use this same approach in both my professional and personal life.”

Garrett also lives by two quotes:

  • “One of my favorite quotes is from Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life- ‘Rule 9: Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t.’ This quote is a great reminder to continually pursue ways to learn and grow professionally and personally.”
  • “While I don’t know the origins of the following quote, I think it ties in nicely with Rule 9: ‘Even a fool can learn from his own mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.’ We can learn a great deal from each other and only need to listen.”

As for Garrett having any hobbies or favorite pastimes, he shares: “I am blessed to have a wonderful wife and two energetic boys so most of my free time is spent with the family. While I don’t spend much time on my hobbies these days, I do enjoy playing guitar, woodworking, and fishing.”