{"640730":{"#nid":"640730","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Meet Cristina Fannin, Construction Manager ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECristina Fannin likes a challenge. As a young adult, she left her close-knit family and a comfortable career as an architect in the Philippines to strike out on her own in the U.S.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I was working as an architect for the National Commission for Disabled Persons, making government buildings ADA compliant,\u0026rdquo; Fannin said. \u0026ldquo;I was making good money, but I was never going to be independent surrounded by my immediate family. I wanted more. I wanted to explore the world.\u0026rdquo; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShe landed a job at Johnson Mirmiran \u0026amp; Thompson in Silver Springs, Maryland, working as a drafter. Even though she has an architecture degree from the University of Santa Tomas, the license requirements in the U.S. were not the same as in the Philippines.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I went from living like a princess with everything I wanted in the Philippines, to living in an apartment with my aunt and uncle, and sleeping on a pull-out bed in their living room,\u0026rdquo; Fannin said. But she was happy. While working in Maryland she met her husband, Alan, and moved to Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShe worked for Pond and Company, an engineering consulting firm. Then she worked for DeKalb County government for almost 15 years as a construction manager in charge of multi-million dollar projects. Her last project was a $13 million animal shelter on Chamblee Dunwoody Road.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We had a ribbon cutting for the facility, and two days later I started at Georgia Tech. After 15 years I needed a new environment with different challenges,\u0026rdquo; Fannin said. She came to Tech in August 2017 as a construction manager for Facilities Management Design and Construction.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFannin\u0026rsquo;s job is to help campus departments make changes to their workspace. Once the design is completed, Fannin manages the construction project.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;That is exciting for me,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;I like seeing the project come together from drawings. I am thrilled when a project is completed and the customer is happy. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter if it\u0026rsquo;s an office space, a lab, or a whole building.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFannin said her group, the special projects team is very supportive.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m glad I came here. I\u0026rsquo;m around a lot of engineers and architects, and I like that. My group is like brothers and sisters. We support each other. I love it here,\u0026rdquo; she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAway From the Office \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFannin enjoys going out to dinner with her husband and hanging out with her friends.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;My husband is a homebody, but I am a social butterfly. He knew that when he married me,\u0026rdquo; she said, laughing. Not being able to socialize with her friends during the last several months has been a challenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I relied on technology \u0026mdash; using FaceTime and calling to stay in touch. It was a test, but I survived,\u0026rdquo; she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFannin enjoys listening to smooth jazz and R\u0026amp;B, reading motivational books, and traveling.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I like listening to music while I\u0026rsquo;m working, but I don\u0026rsquo;t like using headphones,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;I can\u0026rsquo;t work without background music. Not loud music.\u0026rdquo; She also reads a lot. \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t like mushy books. I like reading things that will help me become a better person.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFannin also loves traveling. One of her graduation gifts from her parents was a trip to Europe.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;My best friend and I traveled to see the cathedrals and everything else that we drew in school. We were in awe,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;I have traveled all over Asia. One of the places I haven\u0026rsquo;t been is the Middle East, so it\u0026rsquo;s on my bucket list.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs a young adult, Cristina Fannin left a comfortable career as an architect in the Philippines to strike out on her own in the U.S.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"As a young adult, Cristina Fannin left a comfortable career as an architect in the Philippines to strike out on her own in the U.S."}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2020-10-28 21:41:35","changed_gmt":"2020-10-29 18:52:42","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-10-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-10-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"640747":{"id":"640747","type":"image","title":"Cristina Fannin","body":null,"created":"1603984131","gmt_created":"2020-10-29 15:08:51","changed":"1603984150","gmt_changed":"2020-10-29 15:09:10","alt":"Cristina Fannin in Facilities Management Design \u0026 Construction","file":{"fid":"243543","name":"21C10302-P1-012.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10302-P1-012_0.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10302-P1-012_0.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":138395,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/21C10302-P1-012_0.JPG?itok=alLtCdh4"}},"640741":{"id":"640741","type":"image","title":"Cristina Fannin","body":null,"created":"1603983435","gmt_created":"2020-10-29 14:57:15","changed":"1603983465","gmt_changed":"2020-10-29 14:57:45","alt":"Cristina Fannin in Facilities Management Design \u0026 Construction","file":{"fid":"243537","name":"21C10302-P1-018.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10302-P1-018.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10302-P1-018.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":164197,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/21C10302-P1-018.JPG?itok=vxJmNibY"}},"640743":{"id":"640743","type":"image","title":"Cristina Fannin","body":null,"created":"1603983724","gmt_created":"2020-10-29 15:02:04","changed":"1603983750","gmt_changed":"2020-10-29 15:02:30","alt":"Cristina Fannin in Facilities Management Design \u0026 Construction","file":{"fid":"243539","name":"21C10302-P1-006.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10302-P1-006.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10302-P1-006.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":130119,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/21C10302-P1-006.JPG?itok=zqG1zBl_"}},"640744":{"id":"640744","type":"image","title":"Cristina Fannin","body":null,"created":"1603983930","gmt_created":"2020-10-29 15:05:30","changed":"1603983951","gmt_changed":"2020-10-29 15:05:51","alt":"Cristina Fannin in Facilities Management Design \u0026 Construction","file":{"fid":"243542","name":"21C10302-P1-003.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10302-P1-003.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10302-P1-003.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":182545,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/21C10302-P1-003.JPG?itok=H2pypTZJ"}}},"media_ids":["640747","640741","640743","640744"],"groups":[{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"},{"id":"383831","name":"Facilities Management"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186111","name":"Cristina Fannin"},{"id":"3157","name":"Facilities"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}