With a number of regional awards under her tool belt already, it was another great career step for 22-year-old Karen Reynolds when she was announced as the Construction Female of the Year for Construction Skills Queensland recently...

Karen, a Construction Management student and former Business graduate at CQUniversity, works as a project manager for Rockhampton's Bell Thomasson Builders and has aspirations of one day owning her own building business.

But the road to the top includes some long hours and dedication. As soon as she downs tools for the day, Karen is often opening a book or 2 as she puts another university course to bed.

And along the way she is picking up more accolades. She recently received a university scholarship which will see her fly out for Germany on Boxing Day to attend a course focusing on energy efficiency in the building industry.

As part of her current role as a project manager, Karen "takes a building project from start to finish".

She's got that winning edge ... Karen Reynolds.From finding the client to arranging tenders to liaising with subcontractors and the client throughout the project, Karen has a hand in all aspects of the building project.

Being young and a woman could be seen as a double-edged sword in this industry, but Karen said she has a very supportive boss and work colleagues, which makes her job very enjoyable.

"Everyone becomes your mentor in this kind of industry as there is so much to know."

Karen says it's the creative side to building which inspires her and she also loves to give her clients a great building experience.

"We want our clients' experiences to be positive not negative.

"The biggest thing for me is that people are positive about building like I am."

Karen Reynolds plays a role in all aspects of a client's building experience.