Building Boldness: How Phoebe Booth Found Her Place in Construction
For many kids, snapping together LEGO bricks and stacking Lincoln Logs is just play. However, for one UA Little Rock Construction Management student, it was the start of a career.
Phoebe Booth’s path into construction management wasn’t a straight line. Booth initially enrolled in civil engineering before discovering her passion lay in the hands-on nature of construction management.
Construction remains one of the most male-dominated industries in the U.S., but Booth says her experience has been more encouraging than many might expect. She credits the support she found from the university and her workplace, along with her own resolve to overcome any barrier that presented itself.
“I think even as little as 20 years ago I would have had great difficulty,” Booth says, “but the people you want to work with are going to be the ones smart enough to see past gender biases.”
Serving as vice president of the UA Little Rock chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) has been transformative both personally and professionally. Working alongside the chapter president, Karla Rodriguez, and other strong women in the organization, she has witnessed firsthand the impact of female leadership in the industry.
“Having confidence in your work in this industry is extremely important,” she says, “and I’m glad the experience I’ve had with AGC has given me unapologetic boldness.”
The construction management program has been central to her development. Known for blending hands-on learning with academic and technical training, the program exposes students to site visits, guest speakers and practical building activities, while grounding them in technical subjects like statistics and computing.
Booth credited the program directly for her professional trajectory, saying, “UA Little Rock’s outstanding Construction Management program has been my ticket to success in my career.”
Her message to young women considering a career in construction is simple: pursue the path that feels right and not the one society expects. The opportunities within construction are vast, spanning estimating, project management, design and steel fabrication. Today, she works as an estimating intern, assisting in determining and partially designing steel connections. Tomorrow, she hopes her boldness leads her into a managerial role, with the aspiration of becoming a project manager firmly in her sights.
Looking ahead, she hopes to not only build a long, successful career in the industry but also to inspire other young women to work in the field. If her growth thus far is any indication, the sky – as she notes skyscrapers have already proven – is not necessarily the limit.