Striving for Excellence and Helping Others Do The Same

What is calibration? This is what Nadia Ibrahimi wondered to herself the first time she walked into her brand new position as a Shipping & Receiving Clerk within IIA’s Lab Services Division. That was almost ten years ago, but it didn’t take long for this ambitious life-long learner to ask that question out loud. After some time working as a clerk and then being promoted to Quality Technician, she was given the opportunity to train with a Senior Technician for another new position.

Nadia appreciated the challenge to learn something new and quickly mastered everything she needed to in order to become a Calibration Technician. This intelligent and hard working woman has earned five promotions during her nearly decade-long tenure in IIA’s Lab Services, and she currently serves as Site Leader.

Nadia wears many hats as Site Manager, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She works best when moving from project to project and this role is a perfect match because it comes with a very long To-Do List: scheduling onsite appointments, managing administrative staff as well as field and lab technicians. Adding to her list, she conducts reviews on certificates and also takes care of billing and financial reconciliation. But, wait, there’s more!

Along with all of these important and cyclical tasks, Nadia also leads a staff of many, whom she says are more like family to her than colleagues. She takes pride in supporting, guiding, and motivating each one to always strive for excellence and tells them, “If you see a position and you want it, strive for that, and I will help you figure out how to get there.” She especially loves seeing females succeed within such a niche industry, as aerospace.

Female empowerment is important to Nadia, and the overarching inspiration to her desire to encourage others and to be a good role model comes directly from her children. She loves to see the landscape of this industry changing right before her eyes, as women are given more and more opportunities in every area of this business.

Calibration is so very niche and a lot of people, men and women alike, come to it with no experience, just as Nadia did. Also, she tells us, “Many people don’t realize that women could have such a strong presence in aerospace.” Nadia feels that many women struggle to realize how strong and smart they are, and she thrives on helping them recognize their strengths and capabilities, just as Nadia’s mentor did for her.

As a child, she witnessed positive traits in both of her parents; her mother an immigrant and her dad a military man. It’s no wonder Nadia is successful, nimble, and has a thirst for learning. In the everchanging aerospace environment, there are constantly new things to do and learn and easily adapting to rapidly changing circumstances is something Nadia is an expert at.

Nadia is proud of her accomplishment in earning the position of Site Leader, and what she loves most about the job is her staff. She constantly supports their goals and encourages them to work smart and hard. She wants her staff to follow her lead in always taking on a new challenge. She believes that the future is defined by your own choices, and gives everyone the same advice she offers her children: “Be accountable for your actions and make good choices.” Nadia is smart, ambitious, successful, and caring. She is like the last and perfect puzzle piece that completes a complex whole within IIA’s Lab Services Division.