I am a construction superintendent for a general contractor, DDC. I travel nationally to complete a variety of different projects. I manage all of our subcontractors and their work onsite to ensure that a quality product is delivered to our clients within our deadlines.
A Solid Foundation
I chose Mount Union because of the then-new engineering programs and the opportunity to play on the baseball team. During my time at Mount Union, I was a pitcher on the baseball team, member of the Engineering Club, and a member of Green Raiders. Being a member of the baseball team taught me a lot of skills in leadership, communication, and time management.
Career Preparation
The most important way that my education at Mount Union prepared me for my career was giving me skills in time management, organization, and critical thinking. My job is very fast-paced and requires me to be organized and efficiently schedule work so that my projects are completed prior to our clients’ deadlines. I am constantly presented with issues at work, and the technical background and critical thinking that I learned at Mount Union put me in a good position by being able to handle any issues encountered. I utilize a lot of the software that was introduced during my time in college on a regular basis such as AutoCAD and Microsoft Project. Engineering is a part of the STEM field traditionally, but combining that with a liberal arts-based education has helped to make me a more effective leader, communicator and engineer. The liberal arts education that Mount Union provides has helped me to be more well-rounded as an individual and as a professional.
Hands-On Experience
I had three internships during my time at Mount Union. The first was for the Trumbull County Engineer’s Office, mainly doing inventory of traffic controls as well as assisting the office engineers with the performance of daily tasks such as plan review and inspections of projects. The second was as a construction intern with the Ohio Department of Transportation, where I helped to supervise the construction of projects including bridge construction, asphalt paving, and the installation of new culverts throughout our region. My third internship was with CESO at its office in Canton, where I worked on drafting in AutoCAD Civil3D to assist the drafters and engineers in the office.
Staying Connected to Mount Union
I still keep in touch with my college friends, primarily my friends from the baseball team. We go on vacations together, meet up to golf, or just visit each other. Also, I am still in contact with Dr. Hans Tritico in the Department of Engineering, with whom I discuss my career as well as the growth of the program.