Hello Graduate Clubbers!
Today we would like to feature an essay on the type 'why did I study Civil Engineering and what do I want to be when I grow up?' Thanks to Lindsay Bryant, we have an excellent personal example of 'Why Civil Engineering'. I think this essay will help us all reflect and articulate the long-term agenda for our professional life. This is also important if some of you try to apply for fellowships and research proposal competitions where you have to usually write a 2-3 page personal essay. A good example of this is the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship competition that will be overviewed during the third week of the CEE6910 Graduate Seminar Course.
Lindsay Bryant's Personal Statement (Pubished courtesy of Lindsay Bryant, class of 2011 MS)
As an undergraduate student, I have taken every opportunity to develop my engineering competencies through my involvement in extracurricular activities. I am currently starting my seventh semester at Tennessee Technological University (TTU) and have been heavily involved in many activities within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), including the ASCE concrete canoe team and steel bridge team. In 2008, I was captain of the concrete canoe team and the retention and recruitment chair for our ASCE chapter. Through this experience I learned to delegate tasks, to work as a team, and to be an inspiring leader. As retention and recruitment chair, I went to all the freshman engineering classes and gave a presentation about our ASCE chapter. Also, I am constantly trying to encourage my fellow classmates and undecided freshmen to get involved. During my sophomore year, I was elected secretary of ASCE. I have had extensive involvement with ASCE since my freshman year and plan to continue my involvement during graduate school.
In addition, since January 2007, I have been an undergraduate research assistant in the field of cement-based materials. In this role, I have studied many aspects of cement and concrete technology such as early strength high performance concrete, alkali-silica reaction, delayed ettringite formation, and external sulfate attack. Through this research, I have had the opportunity to travel and present my research. I have been a student member of ACI since 2007 and have attended two ACI Conventions (Atlanta in April 2007 and St. Louis in November 2008). Moreover, I have participated for the past two years in TTU’s Student Research Day, where I presented posters of my current research progress to faculty and my peers. Also, I represented the TTU CEE department at the 4th Annual Undergraduate Research Posters at the Capital in Nashville, TN, where I presented research results to several legislatures. Furthermore, I presented at Argonne National lab for the 19th Annual Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics in Argonne, IL. Through these presentations, I have had the opportunity to advance my knowledge and that of others in engineering.
In addition to being involved in ASCE and undergraduate research, I am also active in other organizations as well. I am an officer in the Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society and a member of the Tennessee Technological University Honors Program. Through the Honors Program, I was engaged in extra coursework that provided me an opportunity to explore my academic interests while making contributions in my research and personal activities. For instance, I was able to participate in a directed study with a CEE professor to further enhance my research studies. This experience allowed me to work independently in developing a more in-depth knowledge of research.
Furthermore, I was an officer of the Engineering Joint Council my sophomore year. This council is a representative group of students that promotes engineering in the local middle and high schools, as well as on campus through engineering week. This experience provided me with the opportunity to share my passion for engineering with the younger generation. Since I have been able to take on a number of leadership positions throughout my undergraduate career, I have advanced in my personal and professional growth.
Throughout my undergraduate studies, I have demonstrated an enthusiasm for promoting engineering and research through community outreach. Each year, I volunteer for the annual FIRST Lego League competition. This is a competition where middle school students from all around the state come to compete with autonomous robots. I am extremely passionate about this competition in that it promotes engineering to young students and shows them how fun and helpful engineering can be to others. Secondly, I have volunteered for “Engineering a Future” most every semester since my freshman year. This program is designed to inspire young females to become engineers. With this program, I have been able to teach these aspiring engineers and scientists principles of engineering through design and engineering related experiments. I feel it is very important to mentor these young girls so that they realize all the possibilities that are out there for them. I am devoted to helping others to benefit society while passing on my own enthusiasm for engineering and research to the next generation of students. Lastly, I have participated in community service through several Habitat for Humanity projects and through two ASCE cave-cleanup projects. Both of these have allowed me to branch outside of the university campus to help make the community a better place using my engineering background.
I plan to pursue my M.S. and Ph.D. immediately following completion of my B.S. I feel that graduate school will provide more in depth knowledge of civil engineering. Additionally, I know graduate school will provide me with unique opportunities to develop my critical thinking and reasoning skills. At this time, I am undecided whether, upon graduation, to pursue a career in industry or academia. While I have been passionate about promoting research and extracurricular activities, I want to explore my interest in teaching.
Upon completing my Master’s degree, I plan to continue in school to improve on the life of concrete structures and help the environment at the same time. In addition, as an engineer, one of my personal and professional goals is to apply the knowledge and skills learned from my education to advance the way people live and to preserve the environment. Thus, I hope to design new and improved methods for construction of eco-friendly buildings. I have developed these goals during my college career through my academic, extracurricular, and research experiences which have in turn motivated and developed my own personal and research interests.
I believe that I am a very ambitious and committed person. The NSF Graduate Fellowship would serve several roles in enabling me to achieve my goals. Most importantly, the fellowship would allow me to work on a research project in line with my career objective rather than a project that happens to have funding. By freeing up resources in both time and money, the fellowship would also provide more opportunities for undergraduates to be included in the research program and would be an incredible opportunity for me to gain experience in mentoring students and managing small teams.
