Sheryl Bermudez, E.I.T.

Sheryl is a land development engineer at Michael Baker International focused on home building and land development projects throughout Southern California. In her role, she designs grading, water utilities, storm drain and sewer systems. Sheryl studied Geohydrology and Latin American Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara, a place where learning marine biology at the beach and exploring the geology of the Santa Ynez Mountains could happen in the same afternoon.

Sheryl is passionate about helping underserved communities and is committed to equity and service, which drove her to participate in this year’s Fika project. Outside of work, Sheryl loves backpacking and rock climbing with her husband and their deaf dog, Monty. She’s also excited to start bringing her one-year-old baby along on future adventures.

Fun fact: Sheryl once accidentally day hiked Mt. Whitney — the tallest mountain in the contiguous U.S. — because she confidently showed up thinking she had an overnight permit. (Spoiler: She did not!)

What did you learn from working and interacting with members of the community in Rwanda?

The Rwandan people are incredibly strong, generous and kind, and this experience has taught me to be more open, more generous and more willing to both learn from others and share what I can in return.