water resources, flooding, stormwater

I chose engineering because I come from a line of engineers. My great-grandfather down through my brother have all been engineers, so it was kind of a family trade.
But I decided environmental engineering because I'm originally from Montana and I really loved being outdoors. Environmental engineering seems like a good way to be able to give back and make a difference.

I like my job because I'm able to take what I'm passionate about and feel like I'm making a difference. I feel like I'm adding to the world and hopefully helping to keep
flooding down and making the infrastructure better.

A typical day at work involves responding to emails, having a couple meetings with supervisors, and working on a myriad of different projects. It also involves doing a lot of individual work on your own schedule. You're accountable for yourself, so you're not going to have somebody looking over your shoulder making sure you get everything done. It's important to make sure that you're well organized with your timelines. Again, having meetings and communicating with your bosses are important.

I want others to know that engineering is not just math, calculus, physics, and big numbers. Engineering is problem-solving and the ability to work with the information that you're given, find a solution, and work towards the end result.

I think my engineering education has helped me see the world differently. I'm able to walk around and look at bridges and look at different parts of the environment and know how they're designed, all the work that goes into them, and how they benefit everyone. My engineering education has also helped me with problem-solving. I think a little differently now and have a different point of view than maybe somebody else with a different background.

hikingbeing outdoorsreadingtraveling

Water Resources Principles and Processes

The skills that have been most important to my career have been communication and problem-solving. Even when you're sitting behind the computer doing modeling, you have to be very good at communicating. Whether you are writing an email or talking with just your supervisor, you need to make sure that you're effectively communicating your time, schedule, budget, and any problems that you might be having.