Happy Engineers Week! We asked our engineers what led them to their career choice. We enjoyed their responses and thought you would too:
My grandfather was a civil engineer for CalTrans (California Department of Transportation) and I frequently listened to his stories about improving our lives through effective, efficient and reliable infrastructure. He stressed repeatedly the importance of doing the work you love, and that led me to serve the clients and communities for which I work through a profession in water resources.
Kevin Gritters, P.E.
My love for Math and Science led me to engineering where I hope to leave the world a better place and help others.
Mike Schwartz, P.E.
It is extremely rewarding to step back when a construction project is finished and take it in.
Jason Washler, P.E.
I enjoy learning, problem solving, making improvements, and helping others. Civil Engineering lets me do all those things. Taking problems that we have in our communities, learning about how they affect people, figuring out the solutions, then implementing them. It’s a great mix of design work, interaction with people, and time out of doors.
Brian Vilmont, P.E.
I was drawn to engineering because I loved science and had an interest in design and wanted to work with people.
Nate Williams
I was drawn to civil engineering because of the desire to be involved with projects that made a difference in the community. Serving communities in which we live in is a rewarding experience. Civil engineering provides that opportunity.
Kevin Kieft, P.E.
As a kid, I enjoyed building things out of blocks, sand, snow, almost anything that was available. My parents suggested looking into engineering and it has become a life long passion.
John Stroo, P.E.
I started college as a computer science major. I was good at it, but it didn’t provide any satisfaction. It was too intangible and abstract. I had an inkling that I wanted to go into engineering; it is so much more hands on and focused on problem solving. I was looking through a book on all the engineering fields and came across civil engineering. It was defined as “the work to sustain civilization.” I really liked the idea of working in a field that serves the greater community by designing and building water systems, roads, and all other critical parts of civilization.
Ariana Jeske, P.E.