Margaret Tatum was in high school when she got her first taste of fire protection. Debating between a career as a doctor or an engineer when she was a junior, she signed up for an engineering summer camp for girls at the University of Maryland. By the time she registered, the only available slot was in the fire protection group. She’d never heard of the field, but as an ambitious teenager with a knack for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), plus problem-solving skills gleaned from her attorney parents. She thought it sounded interesting and decided to go for it.
Now a graduate of UMD herself with a Bachelor of Science in fire protection engineering, Margaret fondly looks back at that summer program, the experiments she got to conduct, and the feeling by the end of the camp, that this was a career she could see herself in. After graduating in 2018, Margaret went to work for GHD, where she also interned as a student. When the time came to decide whether to move overseas in order to stay with the company, Margaret chose to remain in Atlanta, a city she fell in love with during her college internship. Coming to HGI was “a no-brainer,” she said, and she’s hit the ground running since joining our team.
“Whoever needs my help, I’m ready to help them,” Margaret said. “I want to broaden my toolset before I focus in on one thing.”
Eventually, Margaret hopes to travel the world and consult in international fire protection projects. In the meantime, she said she wants to get her “hands in a little bit of everything,” prepare for a successful Professional Engineer licensing examination, and have a positive impact on our firm and the fire protection industry.
“I enjoy helping clients save money and get out of difficult predicaments,” she said.
When she isn’t working, Margaret enjoys playing ultimate frisbee and rugby and packing her bags to visit new cities. An avid traveler, she hopes to visit at least six of the seven continents. Some of her favorite destinations so far include Cape Town, South Africa and Sydney, Australia.