What does a civil or environmental engineer do?
At The University of Toledo College of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, first-year students begin learning that these professionals protect and improve the health and well-being of the public and the environment through designing, analyzing, building and managing the foundation of our modern society — buildings and bridges, water, air, land, energy, waste and transportation systems.
From left, Dr. Defne Apul, a professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Caitlin May, a civil engineering senior; and Kyle Sawyer, an academic advisor.
But what does this all mean when it comes to the practical applications of the degree they’re working toward and the range of career opportunities it provides?
What’s it like to work for a municipal government compared to a private company? A major firm compared to a modest office? To be at a desk versus at a construction site or sampling water at a river? More importantly, what is the community like for the civil and environmental engineering profession?
Alumna Jenny Keffer gets it.
“I understand how difficult it may be for students to know all of the options available to them,” said Keffer, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and environmental engineering in 2016. “I always appreciated the opportunity to go on tours and learn from professionals through the American Society of Civil Engineers and other organizations during my time at UToledo. So, I am glad to now give back and share my experiences with current students.”
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering last year introduced a new element to its long-standing peer mentorship program by inviting working professionals to engage with first-year students. Keffer, a project manager at the integrated environmental science, engineering and consulting firm Verdantas in Toledo, is one of 10 industry mentors this academic year who volunteer to discuss with students at least one direction they can take their career with a degree from the College of Engineering.
Other firms that have joined the mentoring program in its first year are AMB Consulting, Arcadis, DGL Consulting Engineers, the Douglas Co., Kuhlman Engineering Co., Lathrop Construction, Marathon Petroleum, Matrix Technologies and the Rudolph Libbe Group. The department plans to continue to grow the program going forward.
“The college has strong industry connections through its integrated co-op program, but there’s a difference between interacting with someone with the goal to land a job or co-op and interacting with someone with the goal to learn about the industry,” said Kyle Sawyer, an academic advisor. “Industry mentors who can engage with students in a low-pressure context provide a valuable opportunity for our students.”
Industry mentors build on a long-standing peer mentor program within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which enrolls each first-year student in a one-credit orientation course in fall and spring semesters. Discussions on academic success and campus engagement give way to co-ops and career development as students begin to settle into their first and then second semester on campus.
In coordination with this orientation course, each student is assigned to a peer mentor, who is available to field questions between and during additional small-group meetings led by the peer mentor each semester.
Caitlin May, a civil engineering senior, has offered her first-year mentees tips and tricks to succeed in classes and college more generally and steers them to helpful resources as a peer mentor. She would regularly suggest they attend the biweekly student meetings of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
May now heads a four-student committee that runs the peer mentor program. She’s joined by Emma Core, Stella Davisson and Andrew Williamson.
“I’ve always been motivated to help others in any way I can,” she said. “By being a mentor, I’m able to help guide the new students in the civil engineering program and help them learn how to navigate the unknowns within the program and college itself.”
Student success is the priority, and students are more successful when they are more connected and supported, said Dr. Defne Apul, a professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
“Whoever comes through our doors, we want them to get inspired and be part of a powerful, inclusive community as they learn to be an engineer and get a good job when they graduate,” she said. “Our mentoring program plays an important role in helping achieve these goals.”
