Engineering Inc. - November/December 2003 - 4

ASK MEMBERS Why did you decide to become an engineer? I knew what among
Later in college, a professor engineer's job is constantly pro- I didn't
want them. As I challenged me to`get an engi- tecting and benefitting
society. to do: nurs- grew up, neering degree' if I wanted to It truly is
a meaningful and ing or teach- my parents know more about how the
rewarding profession. ing because would pur- various structural elements
in Jon Magnusson I'd always chase old buildings came together and
Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Inc. Seattle, Wash. been told I houses and
were supported. should! I had refurbish R. E. Rick Cunningham a `thing'
against customary them; it was how we moved HDR Security Operations, Inc.
Omaha, Neb. As trite as expectations: In seventh grade up the economic
ladder. As a this may I switched from clarinet to the result, I first
became interested sound, I saxophone because the sax in architecture, and
then kind To be hon- loved solving wasn't considered `girly.' I had of
gravitated to civil engineer- est, I really problems very good grades I
was class ing. Today, after 43 years in the didn't want still do! .
valedictorian and I liked math, business, I can now go past a lot to be an
The high so I attended Worcester Poly- of the public facilities in New
engineer at school classes technic Institute. I started as a York and take
pride that I was first. I just that held my attention were math major, but
later switched actually involved in the con- knew I chemistry, physics and
calculus, to civil engineering. struction of each project. wanted to where
we were presented with Judith Nitsch George Tamaro do something involving
the questions and variables and Judith Nitsch Engineering, Inc. Mueser
Rutledge Consulting Boston, Mass. environment, which was and asked to
pursue an answer. It Engineers New York, N.Y. still is important to me. It
wasn't seemed that the engineering until I got out of school that I
profession offered the subjects We ask all found out the best way to do I
enjoyed, as well as the prob- My interest candidates what I wanted to do
with the lem-solving trait. In addition, in engineer- for the Struc-
environment was through envi- I wanted to be able to see and ing and tural
Engi- ronmental engineering. It seems touch the results of my work.
architecture neers Associ- I made the right choice because I wanted the
satisfaction of began as a ation of I plan to do this for the next 40
knowing that my labors pro- young child. Washington years. duced results
that would be My father, scholarship Frank Castellano used to improve the
quality of who was a program the question, `Why P.W. Grosser Consulting
life, no matter how small the cement mason, would take me do you want to
be a structural Engineers & Hydrologists aspect. Nothing feels better to
Bohemia, N.Y. to construction sites in the engineer?' The most common an
engineer than the satisfac- Omaha region during the sum- answer is
something like: `As a tion of looking back at solved mers to work with
him. I spent kid, I built a tree house, and problems. a great deal of time
helping found it incredibly rewarding!' Cathy S. Ritter If you would like
to bothering the other trades For me, too, it really is all about
Constellation Design Group, Inc. participate in Ask Members, Timonium, Md.
electricians, plumbers, carpen- the joy of creation. To have a job express
interest to Andrea ters, etc. . My father brought where you get to dream,
apply Keeney at akeeney@acec home plans for the buildings math and science
to those .org, and you will be A lot of people of Italian that he worked on
for me to dreams and then see them included in our data bank descent are
involved in con- look at, and encouraged me to become real that's about as
for inquir y. struction, and my family was think about being an engineer.
good as it gets! The structural 4 ENGINEERING INC. N o v e m b e r l
December 2003
Engineering Inc. - November/December 2003

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