Mike While has been a part of RICK for 38 years.
When asked what made him stay, his answer came easily: the people.
The mentors who believed in him gave him opportunities to grow into the leader and engineer he is today.
At just 16 years old, While started his own landscaping company, which he successfully ran through high school and college. He was the only student at his high school to run a business, and Mike eventually began creating his own landscaping plans for clients, developing plans for projects ranging from irrigation systems to decks.
After graduating from SDSU with a civil engineering degree, a chance encounter with a RICK employee at the annual Over the Line tournament led him to apply for an open position at the company. He interviewed with former Senior Vice President Jerry Van Ert and was hired in 1988, joining the company as an Assistant Engineering Designer.
“I loved landscaping, but I really wanted to be an engineer. When I graduated, I had this choice: Do I continue with landscaping, or do I look for a company and get experience doing design and plan preparation? I interviewed with Jerry, they hired me, and the rest was history.” —Mike While, Associate Principal
One of the first major projects While worked on at RICK was Saber Springs, a 1,500-acre master-planned community with approximately 5,000 residential units along with commercial development and major infrastructure. While spent his first few years at RICK focusing on earthwork for the project and said he came to know “every inch” of Saber Springs.
As While gained experience, his responsibilities on Saber Springs grew. He eventually became a primary point of contact for the client, Pardee Homes, and ended up working with them for nearly 30 years as the community developed.
As his career progressed, While learned when to advocate for himself. At one point, his supervisor began looking to hire a project manager who would come in above him. Mike was already an experienced designer managing people at the time, and he believed he was ready for the role and decided to make his case.
“I told him, ‘I’m the person for the job. You don’t need to hire a PM. I’m already managing people, and I’m ready to take this on.’ It was a big leap for me. I didn’t know whether I was going to get fired or if something good was going to happen.” —Mike While
His supervisor ultimately decided against making the outside hire and gave While the opportunity. Looking back, Mike said the experience taught him the importance of speaking up when he knew he was ready for more.
By 2017, While had spent nearly three decades building his career at RICK in San Diego. When RICK acquired Gene Engineering in Colorado that year, Mike saw an opportunity to take on a new challenge. He brought the idea of moving to Colorado to one of his longtime mentors, current RICK President and CEO Kai Ramer.
“I went to Kai and told him I wanted the opportunity to move to Colorado and help run the Denver office. After nearly three decades at RICK, I had learned so much from experienced and respected people in the industry and developed a deep understanding of RICK and its culture, which I was excited to bring with me as we expanded.” —Mike While
As native San Diegans, Colorado was new territory for both While and his wife. Professionally, Mike was also entering unfamiliar territory as he learned to work with new agencies and navigate a different development environment.
One of the projects that helped While familiarize himself with Colorado and its market was Whisper Village, a community center in Arvada surrounded by residential neighborhoods. Coming from San Diego, Mike was still learning Colorado’s market, and the project gave him the opportunity to build relationships with the City of Arvada and establish himself in the area. He eventually became the Engineer of Work for the project.
As development progressed, one of the challenges of the project was managing the excitement and interest in being part of the new development. Whisper Village included more than a dozen commercial lots, bringing in businesses like restaurants, an auto parts store, and a gym. Each business came with its own schedule and was eager to get its plans approved to begin construction and open its doors. While had to balance the needs of the developer with the needs of each individual business, helping them move forward while keeping the larger development on track.
Before the development, people living in the area often had to travel quite far for more variety in shopping, or even to go out to eat. Whisper Village brought new businesses and jobs to the area, and as the development came to life, it gave people more opportunities to enjoy where they lived. They had new places to spend time and could do more within their own community instead of having to leave the area to find it elsewhere. As the Engineer of Work, While was proud to be part of a project that had such an impact on the lives of the people who lived there.
As Mike became more established in his own career, he also became more invested in the careers of those coming up behind him. More than 23 years ago, he hired Rob Fitch fresh out of college. While had the opportunity to mentor Fitch as he built his own career at RICK, eventually becoming a Principal and taking on leadership of the Colorado offices.
Over the years, Mike has had the opportunity to work with many younger employees as they found their footing in the industry and began figuring out where their own careers could take them. He wants younger employees to see that there is room to grow at RICK and there are people willing to help them along the way.
“I’m here to help you, teach you everything I know about the industry, and then let you spread your wings. That’s one of the things I enjoy most now, seeing people grow in their careers and watching where they take it.” —Mike While
After 38 years at RICK, Mike While can trace his career back to the people who saw his potential early on and trusted him with opportunities as a young engineer. He took chances, speaking up when he was ready for more and leaving the only city he had ever called home to help RICK expand into Colorado. It led to projects like Whisper Village, where While could see how his work helped strengthen the surrounding community and make a difference for the people who called it home. Today, one of the most rewarding parts of his career is mentoring younger employees and helping guide them as they build careers of their own, passing along what others once gave to him.
