Thank you to John Hausman for being an active participant in Martin/Martin, Inc's #Pride2024 event and also being a wonderful advocate year-round at Muller! 🌈
As Pride Month comes to a close, we extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined us in celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community, including MM employees, our JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Committee, Muller Engineering Company, and all participants. Highlights from Our Celebration: 🌈 Pride Celebration Happy Hour: Hosted by our JEDI Committee, this event was a celebration of LGBTQIA+ members and allies. We were honored to have John Hausman from Muller Engineering as our keynote speaker. 🌈 Community Support: Special thanks to our friends at Catamount Constructors, The Abo Group, Inc., and ERO Resources Corporation for joining us to make this celebration even more memorable. 🌈 Sharing Stories: MM employees were also encouraged to share their own stories and experiences as part of the LGBTQIA+ community in our monthly internal newsletter. We received many thoughtful and inspiring insights. 📣 Some quotes we wanted to share: ◻ From Sam Nelson in the Marketing Department: “There’s a quote that, ‘Queer people don’t grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimize humiliation and prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts of ourselves are truly us and which parts we’ve created to protect us.’ As an adult, that rings so true to me.” ◻ From Jack Mowat in the Structural Department: "…we are taught that authenticity is only about us and no one else. But that’s not true. We don’t exist in a vacuum; we exist in the context of others. Authenticity is rooted in finding spaces where you don't need to think about who you are." ◻ Key Points John Hausman’s (Muller Engineering) speech (pared down): "If I were to boil my experience in the engineering community down to a few points, it would be these: ◾ First, to my fellow members of the queer community - times change, attitudes change. While there are still engineers and companies out there that may be hostile to the queer community, recognize today's engineering community is full of opportunity. ◾ Second, understand when it's time to fight, and when it's time to move on. It's not our job to get everyone on our side. ◾ Three, actively recognize and heal your traumas. Reliving a past trauma or hurt ultimately holds you back both personally and professionally. ◾ And finally, respond with grace. Our cis and straight allies are going to make mistakes at times. And for those allies: ◾ If you haven't already, learn to recognize when inconsistent requirements or expectations are being placed on only a portion of the people around you. ◾ Second, you may not know it, but you may be someone's safe space, and that's a rare gift. If you find yourself in that position, just be you. ◾ And finally, thank you. Thank you for supporting and caring for your queer coworkers." A big thank you to JEDI, Muller Engineering, and all participants for making this event a tremendous success!