Paul Kitsoulis has always been fascinated by learning how things work. Like a lot of engineers, he enjoys tinkering with things, and his childhood tendency to disassemble and reassemble toys and gadgets evolved into a career in engineering.
As a high school student Paul knew he wanted to pursue a degree in engineering, but had not landed on a specialty after touring the University of Maryland. So, when a member of his neighborhood pool, where he swam competitively for many years, introduced him to fire protection, the field immediately piqued his interest.
“I found that fire protection engineering had a little bit of everything,” Paul said. “There are so many different facets to it, and I like to diversify what I work on, so that definitely helped.”
After graduating from UMD in 2013, Paul moved to the Atlanta area to work for Aon Fire Protection Engineering, which was later bought by Jensen Hughes. He’s been back in Maryland since 2016, and his first day working remotely for HGI was October 12.
“Every building has its own unique challenges, so nothing is really cookie-cutter,” he said, reflecting on his time in the industry. “That makes the job fun, and really rewarding once you figure out those problems.”
In his spare time, Paul enjoys brewing beer and smoking meat with his Weber grill. Both hobbies have been a bit more challenging in the time of COVID-19 — brewing is always easier with a buddy, and “Who wants to eat 10 pounds of brisket by themselves?” His recent 16-hour pulled pork was a success, though, and he looks forward to being able to safely enjoy his cooking with friends and family again.