Melanie Willhite knew at an early age that she was destined to do something associated with building or creating since she grew up in a family of engineers — her father, uncles and two brothers were also in the profession.

Her love of math and science, and her athletic ability in high school (where she played five different sports) earned her a full scholarship to play golf on the women’s team at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Today, Willhite serves as a plumbing and fire protection engineer at Smith Seckman Reid (SSR), where she works with a team of engineers designing and specifying plumbing systems for health care buildings. In addition to earning her fire protection engineering (FPE) and certified in plumbing design (CPD) certifications, she is an American Society of Sanitary Engineering (ASSE) 6005 Generalist and ASSE 6060 Med Gas Systems Designer.

Willhite describes herself as a hard worker to the extreme — a trait she picked up from her mother and passed down to her twin daughters, Megan and Laurie Willhite. She is a perfectionist who likes to have her i’s dotted and t’s crossed and is good at researching and collecting information. 

Willhite also considers herself a caring person who enjoys connecting with the people around her and taking care of her family, adding that the company she works for does the same. “At SSR, we put our clients’ needs first and hear their concerns,” she says. “That’s something that we consider very important. We seek to do the right thing.” 

However, she did not take a straight path toward becoming a plumbing engineer — her career took a rather circuitous route. Read on to learn more about Willhite’s road to her current profession. 

Plumbing Engineer: Tell us about your career path.

Willhite: I first played professional golf for about five years after I graduated college. It is very difficult to be successful in golf, but I wouldn’t trade it. I met so many nice people and my goal when I was out there was to compete and to do it well, and to connect with the volunteers and let them know I appreciated their time being with us. It’s kind of like engineering; you’re constantly learning. 

Though I’m a mechanical engineer, I had always wanted to pursue civil engineering, so I went to work at O’Brien Engineering as a civil engineer in training (EIT), working on hydraulics and hydrology for a year. Then I worked at “The Oven,”’ a research and development center for Nike Golf as a golf product test analyst for a couple of years, testing their products and evaluating the data. 

When I got pregnant with my twins, my husband Lee and I decided it would be extremely important to raise and stay home with the girls. I stayed home with them for seven years. Some of the most beneficial and challenging times in my life have been as a parent. 

I then re-joined O’Brien Engineering, which had started a mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) group and did mechanical engineering for the company, working on HVAC and managing government projects. 

While there, I met some of our subconsultants who did fire protection and plumbing engineering. I learned a lot from them, so I decided to transition to something new. I was then hired by Smith Seckman Reid, where I’ve been almost three-and-a-half years, focusing on health care.

PE: What are your current duties at SSR?

Willhite: Day-to-day, I’m running many coordination meetings for the project I’m working on. I also work in Revit to put on paper what’s going to get built. I’m also managing a team of 10 people for a large hospital project in Dallas (where I live). 

Most of my day is spent coordinating with our architects, structural engineers, civil engineers and the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and technology engineers while we get our systems in place and play nicely in the sandbox. It’s exciting trying to make the systems work and make them better. 

PE: What makes the engineering profession so unique?

Willhite: I love knowing that as an engineer, your goal is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public. While working on hospitals — that’s absolutely what we’re doing. We’re trying to make the hospital efficient and the systems work properly.

There’s always challenges in health care to keep the water clean and make sure our clients have the right fire protection systems in place. It’s a privilege and an honor to be able to work on the systems and to have people surrounding me who know health care so well. 

PE: What’s a favorite part of your job?

Willhite: The coordination process, where we’re meeting with our users, clients and design team, working through challenges with them, trying to figure out solutions to very complicated problems. 

The other thing I’ve really enjoyed at SSR is attending symposiums or expos, being able to collect and gather the information that I feel is very valuable or very new, then providing seminars back to our team at SSR. 

Taking that information and giving it back is extremely important to me. I have all these people who have supported me in my career journey. If they’re going to invest the time and effort to help me be something better than I am, then I’ve got to give it back.

PE: Describe a challenge you faced during your career and how you overcame it. 

Willhite: One of the biggest challenges I have faced in my career was not in the engineering industry but when I played professional golf. When I faced my first surgery of four, hoping and willing myself to try to get well and make it back on the tour, it was so hard to sit out and rehab, and fight to get back to my top form, then get set back again with the second surgery, a third and then a fourth. 

Going through that taught me two valuable lessons: The process is such a valuable part of life — if we strive always and only for the end goal, what about the pathway to get there? Something will be missed if you focus on the product and forget to “stop and smell the roses” along the way. 

The second lesson: Having a support system in place as I have faced life’s challenges has been critical to my success thus far. I am so grateful for my husband and family, who have stuck by me in so many aspects of my career. I am grateful for all those people who have crossed paths in my life and who have provided learning opportunities and memories — I am a better person because of those who have surrounded me with love, care, time and effort — I am blessed.

PE: Who are your mentors?

Willhite: My mom and dad, Steve and Shirley Hagewood, who were both teachers (and my dad was my caddy and high school golf instructor), and my in-laws. My mother-in-law Lynn Willhite is a retired Methodist minister who started a nonprofit in Palestine, Texas, called “We Care Palestine,” whose mission is initiating and fostering positive, caring relationships. My father-in-law Leon Willhite is the district governor for Rotary District 5910, an organization that connects people and gives back to the community. 

My golf coach Sylvia Ferdon, who spent so much time and effort trying to help develop me as a person and a golfer, and her husband Doug. Also, Jim O’Brien from O’Brien Engineering, Inc., who’s an expert in his industry and has written quite a few papers on water management and conservation.

The colleagues I work with every day on my team at SSR — Wil Semien, Luminita Bondar, Matt Clark, Sergio Miranda, Brett McQueen and Lee Nordholm — this group of people, they know their stuff. You have to be an expert in health care to do it well, and you have to be specialized. I’ve so appreciated having them to lean on and ask questions and work through very challenging systems.

PE: How do you stay connected with the industry and share that knowledge?

Willhite: One thing SSR does that I’ve really valued is it wants you to stay connected to the industry. I attended the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) Expo recently for two reasons: I wanted to learn the most current plumbing technologies and to support ASPE. After the expo, I look forward to providing the new information for our team, and I’m grateful to be able to do that. 

So many changes affect the plumbing and fire industries right now that are going to be very critical to what we’re doing every day. Having the opportunity to go to symposiums and expos and learn and then come back and teach our team — I love that part of what we do.  However, it’s also a little scary because technology is happening so fast that the codes cannot keep up.

PE: What are you and your firm doing to get more young engineers into the industry today? 

Willhite: We attend a lot of college industry days to talk to students, and we are involved in the community. We volunteer at the North Texas Food Bank and we try to get out and do things for the community. 

Also, every summer we have interns. This past summer I was extremely honored to be involved in their work. SSR does a wonderful job with our interns. They had a summer project to work on; we got to work with them one-on-one. They also helped us work on our projects. It’s a great process to teach these students what the industry is about.

As a member of ASPE, every year we try to do something for Engineering Week. Last year, I did a presentation for five classes at my daughters’ school. I built it around an ASPE model, taking the systems they see every day at school. I taught them about the history of plumbing and did some pretty crazy experiments. 

For example, one of the systems I’ve been working on is a nanofiltration system that filters out 99.9% of the bacteria. I purchased several lifesaver straws — a little black straw with a little bitty nano filter — had one kid come up, put in a couple of scoops of dirt and some grass in a cup of water and stir it up really good. Then I drank it and we talked about it. You’ve never seen so many kids’ eyes light up. So, it was super interesting for them. I also bribed them with candy, which I am sure also helped to keep their attention.

PE: How can the industry better recruit and retain young professionals?

Willhite: I want to say to our group that’s getting ready to retire, hang in there for at least five more years. A lot of young folks are coming into plumbing because it’s becoming a specialty. We need to gather and learn as much information as we can before this wave of experienced industry leaders retires. 

It’s not only a concern in plumbing, but with other disciplines as well. We are in danger of losing very valuable experience if we do not take advantage of our mentors’ knowledge and experiences. Going to ASPE, trying to get the students to become involved, going out in the community and talking to the high school kids, and just helping open their eyes to things that they don’t think about is one way to better recruit people.

PE: What advice do you have for those interested in working in plumbing design and specifying?

Willhite: The plumbing industry is becoming a specialty of the mechanical discipline and requires consistent attention to code changes, new technology and staying connected with our manufacturers and suppliers to keep up to date on the latest technology. 

It is an exciting time to be part of the plumbing industry. Our job requires a heavy amount of coordination with other disciplines to engineer the systems appropriately and efficiently. My best advice would be to have a mindset of continual learning and search for better solutions to plumbing. Stay connected to the industry and utilize resources around you to help solve the complex problems of water quality, water shortage and efficiency of today’s plumbing systems.

PE: What have been some of your favorite projects?

Willhite: One of my more recent favorite projects was a hospital in San Antonio for CHRISTUS Health — CHRISTUS Santa Rosa-Westover Hills, where we did a four-story bed tower expansion, adding 164,000 square feet. The community needed a bigger facility and it was fun to work with CHRISTUS and its team and our architects at Haskell to build it. It’s under construction right now and it’s scheduled to be finished in January. 

The current project I’m working on is here in Dallas, a new health-care facility for Children’s Health and UT Southwestern. We are partnering with HKS and Perkins & Will architects. The hospital is 4.7 million square feet with 552 beds. It’s a massive project and an exciting one to be part of. 

PE: Which professional organizations have shaped your experience in the plumbing industry? 

Willhite: ASPE, most definitely. I’m serving as the treasurer of the Dallas/Fort Worth board right now and have really enjoyed connecting. That’s one of the great things about ASPE — we’re connecting with people; we’re trying to get our manufacturers reps involved; and helping our young people learn and our more seasoned designers to share. 

I’m also a member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) and the National Fire Protection Association. I’ve used SFPE for the fire protection PE exam; it provided really good resources for the industry. I’ve enjoyed getting involved with both of those groups. I also volunteer and work for the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, helping to develop a new Mechanical Plumbing PE exam.

PE: Why is it important to get involved with industry-related organizations?

Willhite: You’re building a community of folks — you can ask questions, you can learn about new products and you meet people that you can hang out with. For ASPE, we have a clay shoot, a golf tournament and a casino night. We try to do things together to build the community and then know we can reach out to each other with resources. 

It’s extremely valuable. It’s not unlike having a church or school group you can be present with and connect with. You’re not always going to agree with each other and that’s OK, as long as you can talk through it. Sometimes, it’s easy to get polarized and on opposite sides. Being part of an organization helps you meet somewhere in the middle. It’s extremely valuable for people to do that.

PE: What is the most pressing issue for engineers today? 

Willhite: The codes catching up with technology — that’s what we’re seeing in all our industries right now — not just plumbing and fire protection. 

The technologies that we’re developing as a world make it challenging with water quality and making sure we have clean drinking water — clean drinking water is an issue for so many countries and it will be for our country at some point. How do we take the processes that we’ve learned and make them usable and affordable? 

There’s a lot of things we can do as we’re developing and learning new ways and new systems that we use to help people be healthier and safer. It’s a very good thing to be out in front of, and having experts in our field will help us get a better solution faster.

PE: A unique aspect of plumbing engineering is that many people who are not licensed engineers are out specifying plumbing systems; rather, they’ve made a career through on-the-job experience or other paths. What’s your stance on this? 

Willhite: As our industry is becoming more specialized, it’s critical to have folks who can be on both sides of that fence. We need experts in our field and whether you’ve got a PE, other certifications or not, many people in our industry do their jobs well. 

There are different groups of folks who need to be good at what they do in the plumbing industry; having opportunities for certifications such as the CPD, ASSE 6060, Certified Plumbing Design Technician and Green Plumbing Design (GPD) that you can attain to be good at what you do. Having a Mechanical Plumbing PE exam, the mechanical discipline is extremely valuable and important to our group, but I also think those other certifications are just as important. 

PE: Why are certifications important?

Willhite: A lot of changes are coming to our industry. All these certifications help us do our job well. They show I’m willing to go through the effort and learn. Having the resources to get the knowledge I’m looking for, that’s what I want. I want the knowledge and I want to be able to help somebody with it. 

PE: What are some of the most edifying accomplishments so far in your career?

Willhite: Getting my CPD was a big one for me because it was a transition point where I was ready to go into health care, and then getting my fire protection license was huge. 

Lastly, the work I am doing on a huge 552-bed hospital campus in Dallas right now. It’s extremely exciting to work with our design team and our owners to try to build an amazing campus. It’s been such a highlight to be part of that project and work with industry experts — from the architects to the engineers to the contractors. It has also been very valuable to engage with and learn from our owner and facility users as we design the facility together.

PE: What do you do in your free time?

Willhite: I recently finished coaching the girls in softball for 12 years, and I really enjoy cooking. My grandmother was a good cook; sometimes, when I’m stressed, I go into the kitchen. Unfortunately, the things I’m really good at cooking are not very healthy for me, but I do enjoy that. 

I also love to be outside and I love to play golf, though I’m not playing as much right now because of the kids’ activities. I also teach a Bible study class at church and I’ve enjoyed connecting with that group. We’re gearing up for Advent and talking about building community. 

It’s so easy to be disconnected, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in all aspects of what we do, it’s important to let people know that you care. We’re not always going to be perfect and we’re going to fail at times, but if you can pat somebody on the back and say, “Hey, I’m here for you,” — that’s extremely important. 

PE: So, what’s your handicap? 

Willhite: When I was on tour and at my best, I was a plus two or three, which is a couple under par every round. Nowadays, I’m a four, but they also let me play from the women’s tees, which is still not fair. You get quite a bit of advantage, but it’s fun. If I’m playing in a scramble for work or for ASPE, I can step up to the tee box and do some really fun things. 

PE: What advice would you give to people who take time off from their careers to raise their children? 

Willhite: Keep your connections close and try to keep up with what the industry’s doing. Taking the time to stay connected makes the transition back into the workforce less difficult. 

PE: Any striking or notable events for 2024? 

Willhite: Celebrating my 21st wedding anniversary! I’m extremely proud of and appreciative of having a partner who’s willing to stand by me and let me accomplish my goals. I’ve done professional golf. I stayed home with the kids. We play fantasy football together; we play golf and pickle ball together. 

When you’ve been together 21 years, the things that you learn to celebrate and enjoy together, I very much value that. I’m immensely busy with the kids and with work, and it’s fun to have someone to share it with.

PE: What does it mean to be named Plumbing Engineer of the Year?

Willhite: It is an amazing honor, and I am truly humbled. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from my mentors and plumbing team, eager to take the knowledge I have gained and give it back to those learning, and proud to help promote the plumbing industry as we continue to grow in complexity with updated technologies surrounding us. I wouldn’t be in this position without the great care and support of my faith, my family, my friends and my company.