Women of asphalt
A Woman of Asphalt: Meet Gabriel Contractors’ Kristi Vertucci Kristi Vertucci grew up in the family-owned business of Gabriel Contractors, Amsterdam, New York. She shared that she’s been taking care of the business side of things for over 13 years now, and has worked on-site as a laborer for the past 10. She has completed three degrees that she pulls from to manage the complexities of running an asphalt business: • Associates Degree in Business from Fulton Montgomery Community College—2005 • Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Albany University—2008 • MBA with a concentration in Management from Empire State College—2011 Even with that education in hand, the journey to vice president and co-owner of Gabriel Contractors took a circuitous route. For one, her father wanted “what he thought was a better career that in turn would give me a ‘better’ life,” Vertucci shared. “But he soon realized I was right where I belonged the whole time.” She almost followed a very different career path. “I was a fashion model in high school and always loved fashion, so the only thing I could picture myself doing was something in the fashion industry,” Vertucci explained. She also felt the pressure many youth feel to attend a four-year university. “In addition, my parents always wished I would get a college education so that I did not have to work as hard, as long and in such harsh conditions as they did in the past. So off I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, hoping to make a mark in the fashion industry as a fashion merchandising manager; maybe even designer one day.” Health setbacks halted that path indefinitely. “I had to come home and take a semester off to address my physical health before I could ever think about going back,” Vertucci explained. “After months of reflection and self-care, I realized I needed to start off slowly if I was ever going to be able to achieve an education while taking care of my health properly. From there, I thought a business degree and a double major in psychology would suit any career I decided to go into in the future. “But as I started to help out and complete my college thesis on our family business, I had an epiphany; it was where I belonged.
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32 // February 2021
Kristi Vertucci, vice president and co-owner of Gabriel Contractors, Amsterdam, New York; all photos courtesy of Andy Ionnotti at Port Jackson Productions “Why was I chasing a career path that was not truly my passion? It was a fun hobby, but I could never picture myself waking up every day absolutely in love with my job. So, after three years…I was able to quit my IT analyst position and finally start pursuing a career within which I always belonged.”
