Men At Work is a gathering for the purpose of encouragement, fellowship, and fun for Northstar men and their friends and co-workers happening Friday, March 3. To find out more click here.
The Men At Work Series is a way to promote the event and get to know each other at the same time. The first few spotlights will feature members of the Immeasurably More building team.
Tim and Marea Hagedorn, along with their boys Kayden and Greyson, have been members at Northstar since 2014. They have served the church in numerous ways including Safety Response Team, Kids Camp, and Harvest Hoedown. Tim has been an invaluable member of Immeasurably More on the building team, in part because at work he is a Civil/Structural Engineer.
Tim provides engineering support for projects ranging anywhere from new buildings to small renovations of existing buildings. He adds value to the process by researching new products and techniques that provide cost-effective ways of enhancing new construction or solving an existing problem.
A childhood love for building things or “tearing things up” (as his Dad would say), carried over into college where Tim interned for an engineering company. Once he saw how the behind the scenes planning and mental thought translated into a finished tangible structure, he knew he had found his career path.
Q. What is challenging about being a Civil/Structural Engineer?
A. There is a sign that I’ve seen that sums it up pretty well… “Engineering is the art of modeling materials we do not fully understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyze, so as to withstand forces we cannot accurately predict, in such a way that he public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance.” But beyond the general challenge of working with materials the human component is pretty challenging and requires patience and integrity. I find it challenging when I have to inform stakeholders that something will be much more costly than they expected or confronting a contractor when discovering that “corners had been cut” to save money.
Q. How does being a follower of Jesus impact you in your work?
A. Following Jesus helps me to be more others centered and think rightly about myself (Phil. 2). Being “considerate of others” in my work means trying to understand their circumstances and treat them with integrity even in the tough situations.
Phillipians 2:3 (ESV) “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”