Project manager excited about impact of new buildings

Published: June 30, 2022

Nonyameko Waddell

Upon meeting Nonyameko Waddell, the first thing you notice is her unusual first name. It means “patience” in Swahili.

But put a hard hat on her head and assign her to organize a construction project, it’s apparent that her skill set is as unique as her name.

As the senior project manager for CMI General Contractors Inc., she’s overseeing several building projects currently underway or about to begin on the Greenville University campus. She is experienced in construction practices and holds a degree in construction management. She also earned a juris doctorate in law, is an artist, a cyclist, a runner, and the proud owner of a Weimaraner dog.

Project manager for St. Louis soccer stadium

Before signing on with CMI in January to oversee the GU projects, she was vice president of construction for the Kwame Building Group, and project manager for the company’s $400 million project to build a Major League Soccer stadium for St. Louis City Soccer Club.

Though she’s lived in several locations around the United States growing up because her mother was an Air Force officer, she graduated from high school in nearby Belleville, IL. She then attended Kennesaw State University in Georgia, graduating with a degree in construction management.

“My early years in the construction industry weren’t all daisies and roses,” Waddell said. “I saw things being done that weren’t the best solutions to problems. I felt that I could improve things if I knew more about legal issues, so back in 2010 I enrolled at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta.

“After law school, I returned to construction management, and found that having the law degree added to my skills and enhanced my ability to perform my duties.”

In 2018, she moved to St. Louis to join the Kwame Building Group and became the company’s project manager for the soccer stadium job. She spent two and a half years on the project, coordinating the subcontractors, working with the architects, and navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. As many as 600 workers were involved on the stadium project, which is located just west of downtown St. Louis.

But her involvement there ended last fall when she decided it was time to move in another direction.

“I wanted to change, to slow things down a bit,” she said. “I resigned and I moved to Greenville early this year.”

Enjoying the Greenville experience

At the time, her move here had nothing to do with the building projects she’s now overseeing for Greenville University. She picked Greenville because it was near her fiancé, who was working in Vandalia. Though she hadn’t lived in a small town before, she soon found herself enjoying the experience.

“My time here has been indescribable,” she said. “Greenville is a wonderful, wholesome small town. And I’ve never seen a university have such a positive impact on the surrounding community. It’s inspiring.”

It wasn’t long after she moved to town, however, that she received a call from a recruiter seeking someone to oversee the projects being launched by the University– a new residence hall, a gymnastics facility, and two buildings at the GU athletic complex.

“When this opportunity came along, it confirmed that this was where I was supposed to be,” Waddell said. “It all lined up perfectly. And the recruiter couldn’t believe that I already lived in Greenville.”

Impact of projects will be ‘monumental’

She’s excited about the impact the projects will have on the community.

“These will be monumental projects for the city of Greenville,” she said. “The gymnastics facility will draw people into Greenville from the surrounding area. The nursing program that will be housed in the lower level of the residence hall will encourage people to move here, receive training, and then fill jobs in the area. And the new facilities at the athletic complex will enhance the university’s growing athletic program and provide students and the community a building that promotes healthy living.

“I’m extremely excited about the projects we’re working on. I’m doing what I love in a place that I love. I couldn’t ask for more.”

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For more information about Greenville University building projects, visit greenville.edu/projects .