Quinn-it to Win It

Andy Quinn, PE, LEED®AP, knows all about teamwork, a strong component of Urban’s corporate culture. Not only is Quinn a member of the Marine Practice, where he collaborates on design projects, but he has rowed competitively for most of the past 13 years, most recently representing the United States at a race in Barcelona, Spain.

From humble beginnings of starting on a club team during his freshman year of college, Quinn’s skills, efforts, and desire have led him to race at the World Championships in 2008 and continue to pursue international competition. This year, Quinn is competing in a two-man event in the lightweight class, which requires that he weigh less than 160 pounds, with an average weight between himself and his partner of not more than 154 pounds.

Quinn and his rowing partner compete in trial races sponsored by USRowing, the United States’ governing organization for the sport. The trial races, held at Mercer County Park in New Jersey, led him to qualify for this year’s first World Cup race in Spain, where Quinn and his partner finished 10th overall.

Quinn’s “special circumstances” employment at Urban allows him to fulfill both athletic and professional goals. His flexible schedule and unpaid time off give him time to train and compete. He also gets a morale boost from his colleagues, who “have been very understanding, supportive, and accommodating. I feel like I’m truly a member of the Urban team. In fact, I often describe the arrangement as my number-one competitive asset,” Quinn said. “Many of my rowing peers do not work or delay their employment in a long-term career. Maintaining a balance with the real world not only enables me to pay the bills, but having a job that I am proud of keeps my spirits up when training is difficult or races don’t go well.”