County Employee Juggles Work, Life, Family for a Brighter Future

County Employee Juggles Work, Life, Family for a Brighter Future

Balancing work and life can be difficult, especially for a young professional trying to establish their career while starting a family.

Wendy Reyes with Orange County Public Works knows this struggle as well as anyone. She started her career with the County in 2017 after graduating from Valencia College with an AS degree in Civil Engineering and got married that same year.

In 2019, Reyes gave birth to twin boys and her perspective on her career changed.

"Everything changed," said Reyes. "All of a sudden, we needed a bigger apartment, a bigger car, double the diapers, double the formula, we needed double the everything."

Reyes knew that to provide the best life for her growing family, she needed to further her education, and for her, that meant finishing her Civil Engineering degree.

"The needs of our family were greater than what I could provide, and I realized that I had to become more to be able to provide more," said Reyes. "I decided that I needed to go to go back to school to become an engineer."

In 2022, Reyes enrolled at the University of Central Florida, utilizing the County's Educational and Professional Reimbursement Program.

"During the three years it took me to finish my degree, I would leave my house before the kids were awake, spend my day at the office before classes, then finally see my kids after school just in time for the daily dinner-shower-bedtime routine," said Reyes. "There were days I did not think I could continue this journey that I had started but my family was counting on me."

While providing a better life for her family was the motivation for completing her degree, for Reyes it was also a way for her to honor her family and the sacrifices they made to give her a better life. In May 2025, Reyes completed her degree, earning her BS in Civil Engineering.

"My grandmother, who grew up in the Dominican Republic and only received middle school education, and my parents, who only received high school educations, all got to see me walk across the UCF stage and receive my Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, said Reyes. "The look of pride and genuine joy on their faces meant the world to me."

Within weeks of graduating, Reyes received multiple different job offers before ultimately accepting a promotion with Orange County Public Works as an Assistant Project Manager in the Traffic Engineering division.

Her role focuses on ensuring ADA compliance. She helps plan and manage projects aimed at creating accessible transportation infrastructure. Her responsibilities include developing budgets and schedules, conducting research and evaluations related to barrier removal, and coordinating with contractors and other departments. In addition, she oversees public outreach efforts, responds to citizen requests, and maintains databases to support the timely resolution of accessibility issues.

Reyes added, "As a parent of special needs children, this role is important to me as it ensures our projects improve access for individuals like my kids, as well as all members of our community."