Kersti Hughes: Turning student learnings into a successful career

Kersti Hughes joined J.D. Irving, Limited (JDI) 11 years ago as a civil engineering student with New Brunswick Southern Railway (NBSR). Since then, she has held eight roles across the business, earned her Professional Engineer certification and Certified Logistics Professional designation, and built a career shaped by continuous learning.  

Student Years 

Kersti’s journey with JDI began in her first year of university. Drawn to the idea of gaining hands-on experience both in the field and behind the desk at NBSR, she found a supportive team that helped her quickly gain footing to navigate her first-year assignments.  

When she returned for her second summer, Kersti learned that solutions she had built were still in use. This validated her work and instilled confidence as a young professional.  

Over three summers with NBSR, Kersti expanded her scope, responsibilities and network. Two lessons from that time still guide her today: Everybody has something to offer and teach, and growth comes from saying yes to new opportunities and being adaptable.

Post-Graduation Perspective 

Since graduating, Kersti has carried her initial takeaways while navigating roles spanning engineering, business improvement, operations and data analysis.  

“I’ve never been disappointed when I try something new. I’ve always looked back in the end and thought ‘I’m glad I did that,’” Kersti said.  

Each role has challenged her to build new skills, and sometimes even recall old ones. Leadership positions strengthened her management and people skills, while data-focused roles have expanded her technical expertise. Throughout her career, an engineering mindset has remained constant. Critical thinking, problem solving and root cause analysis skills serve her every day and enable her to take on new challenges.  

“I was very focused on where I thought my career was going,” Kersti said, reflecting on what she would tell her 20-year-old self.  

“Letting go of that and trusting the opportunities in front of me would have spared me a lot of hesitation and doubt. Where I am now is different than I expected – and it’s great.” 

Kersti’s story embodies the “Join One. Grow with Many.” mindset at JDI. Her career steps highlight the breadth of opportunity across JDI’s diverse businesses.  

“Take every opportunity to learn and try something new,” she said. “Many of the choices that shaped my career weren’t part of my original plan, but those decisions have forged a direction that I love.”