What career or personal update would you like to give to your fellow Florida Tech Panthers alumni?
Following my graduation at Florida Tech I returned back to my hometown Boca Raton and accepted a full-time position at KEITH, a transdisciplinary Land Development firm centralized in Broward County. As part of the Civil Engineering department, my day-to-day consists of permitting, drawing/updating civil plans, and wet utility design, with a focus on stormwater management. I have also recently passed my Fundamentals of Engineering (F.E.- Civil) to earn my E.I. certification, and look to earn my status as a Professional Engineer in the coming years.
How did your time at Florida Tech help get you to where you are today?
At Florida Tech, I had many opportunities to learn not just about my profession, but also learn about the world through the fellow students. There are plenty of great people from all over the world who attend FIT, and I had the opportunity to learn about their homes and cultures through them. Florida Tech also helped me develop my technical communication abilities, which is a very important skill to possess working in STEM post graduation.
What is your favorite Florida Tech memory?
The Northrop Grumman Student Design Showcase. I believe that Florida Tech & Northrop Grumman truly give students an opportunity to get creative and test their mettle against one another, forcing them to apply all they have learned in the prior years. Many of the teams in the showcase I participated in, especially the folks over in Mechanical and Aerospace, had some incredible projects that surely caught the eyes of companies looking to hire from our graduating class.
Was there a mentor or professor who had a big impact on you personally and/or professionally?
There were several fantastic mentor figures who aided me in my time at Florida Tech. Though, I believe the Hydrology & Water/Wastewater System Design classes I took with Dr. Ashok Pandit are what really set me apart from my peers in my Civil field of choice. They were difficult courses, but really cemented my understanding of water, sewer, and drainage design, which would become pivotal for my success.
Please share any advice you have for current Florida Tech students.
Get an internship if you're a Junior or a Senior, especially your summer before becoming a Senior. You can only learn so much in a classroom, and that extra experience on a resume is likely what will set you apart from others in the job hunt. Applying what you learn in practice will help you retain and understand the concepts much better than book learning.
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