ASCE Plot Points Podcast

Every day in April, ASCE Plot Points is calling a different civil engineer from around the United States to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their life, their community, their work and the civil engineering profession. Thirty days. Thirty phone calls. Community Call 3 goes to Tony Cioffi, whose work as assistant resident engineer for the Kew Gardens Interchange Phase 4 project in New York City continues. Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

Every day in April, ASCE Plot Points is calling a different civil engineer from around the United States to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their life, their community, their work and the civil engineering profession. Thirty days. Thirty phone calls. Community Call 2 goes to Vivian Chong, a senior civil engineering student at UCLA. She talks about how the final quarter of her college experience has changed quite suddenly and what her post-graduation job plans look like. Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

Every day in April, ASCE Plot Points is calling a different civil engineer from around the United States to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their life, their community, their work and the civil engineering profession. Thirty days. Thirty phone calls. Community Call 1 goes to Mike Paddock, a deputy director with Engineers Without Borders. Also the author of the ASCE News “Engineering With Heart” series, Paddock has a unique perspective on the pandemic and how civil engineers can help. Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

A entrepreneur starts with an idea, it’s true. But successful entrepreneur pairs the idea with a plan. Stephanie Slocum had both idea and plan. The founder and CEO of Engineers Rising LLC talks about her entrepreneurial journey and how her company is helping to empower civil engineers (1:50). And in Member Memos, Alex Kolkena talks about how he found career confidence in the P.E. exam (20:18). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

Stressed about election season? Worried you won’t find a candidate who represents all that you believe? Maybe it’s time for you to eliminate the proxy and run for office yourself. Marsha Anderson Bomar did. She’s in her fourth term on the City Council in Duluth, Georgia and talks today about how civil engineering and public office intersect (2:05). We get a civil engineering “Origin Story” from Fatma Afghan, a student in the United Arab Emirates (16:45). And in Member Memos, we hear how civil engineers blend policy work into their professional life (20:30). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

What keeps a community safe after an extreme event? An interdependent system of systems. Resilience starts with keeping those lifeline systems connected and working together. Craig Davis talks about how to tackle that challenge and why he’s made this mission his life’s work (1:15). Then in a new segment called “Getting Practical,” San Diego transportation engineer Valeria Ceron offers some tips for getting your civil engineering resume just right (12:56). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

When it comes to inspiring the next generation of civil engineers, representation is so very important. Jose Castro, an assistant engineer in water resources for Michael Baker International in Irvine, California, tells his story of both how he was inspired to pursue civil engineering when he was a student and how he now inspires students through outreach work (1:52). In Extracurricular, we hear from Ashlyn Alexander, who has an interesting, athletic, team-building hobby outside of her day-to-day work as a road and highway engineer for Parsons (11:33). And in Member Memos, we hear what compels civil engineers to volunteer their time (15:28). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

Planning for retirement is a crucial component to any personal finance strategy. But it’s not easy. When do you start? How much money is enough? Nicolai Oliden, in the second part of a two-part podcast series, helps answer those questions (1:06). Then in Origin Stories, we meet ASCE Virginia Section Past-President Daren Williams and hear how his father and the Navy helped shape his career, from nine years of service to the City of Virginia Beach to a master’s degree from Old Dominion University to working for the Virginia Department of Transportation (11:49). And we get more retirement financial advice from civil engineers in Member Memos (15:25). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

No one likes to talk about money. It often feels immodest, awkward, maybe even embarrassing. So how do you get advice about managing your money and developing an investment strategy? Nicolai Oliden, a roadway project engineer for Ethos Engineering and former president of the Phoenix Younger Member Forum, helps young engineers have those difficult conversations about personal finance (1:18). And in Member Memos, we ask what tools you use for budgeting your money (18:22). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

Maybe you’ve recently been offered the chance to go work a career fair or talk to some students at a local school. And maybe you’ve thought, “Sure, it might be fun, but what would I even say? Why would those kids want to hear my story. I’m nobody special.” But maybe you’re totally wrong. Your presence for just one afternoon can have a huge effect on a student’s life. Jonathan Brower, as he was starting his structural engineering career, took over a civil engineering club at a high school in his hometown of Dallas. Seven years later, the club is thriving and countless students have been inspired by Brower’s generous dedication (2:16). In our latest “True Adventures” story, Cris Surbeck recalls the project early in her career that found her working to solve a prison’s contaminated water problem (15:24). And in Member Memos, we travel down memory lane to hear what civil engineers remember knowing about the civil engineering profession when they were in high school (21:15). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

Job goals don’t always have to be centered around salary or status. Often, it’s more about personal happiness and finding the right fit. For Bianca Casem, a project engineer at Swenson Say Fagét in downtown Seattle, that means sharing an office with her dog (0:35). And in today’s Extracurricular segment, Chris Hanna, project engineer at Pennoni, discusses his passion for live music (8:56). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

Margarita Kruyff is not a civil engineer. But she works with civil engineers every day in her job as the assistant director of the Environment and Sustainability Department for the City of Miami Beach and also serves as chair of the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute Miami-Dade Chapter. So she is uniquely positioned to provide insights on what it’s like to work and communicate with civil engineers from a non-engineer’s perspective; insights she shares in today’s episode of ASCE Plot Points (0:54). Then, Danielle Schroeder’s structural engineering origin story starts close to home. Literally (12:00). And in Member Memos, we learn what skills civil engineers need to develop so that they take on more project leadership roles (15:33). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

ASCE’s Structural Engineering Institute issued the “Prestandard for Performance-Based Wind Design” early this year. Performance-based design continues to be one of the four focus areas (along with resilience, life-cycle cost analysis and innovation) of ASCE’s Grand Challenge. Don Scott, P.E., F.SEI, F.ASCE, the prime investigator for the prestandard development team, talks about both the prestandard and, more broadly, the power of performance-based design to close the infrastructure gap (2:43). In this week’s Changing the World segment, Jennifer Sloan-Ziegler talks about her unique brand of coffee-shop mentoring in Mississippi (10:54). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

Guillermo Díaz-Fañas, C.Eng, Ing., P.E., M.ASCE, has been giving back and making a difference all his life. Today he talks about the nonprofit he helped start, Qu-AKE: Queer Advocacy and Knowledge Exchange, for LGBTQ+ professionals working in the built environment (1:16). In the Changing the World segment, Hector Colon de la Cruz discusses his work on ASCE’s Infrastructure Report Card for Puerto Rico (12:50). And in Member Memos, we hear how advocacy and civil engineering intersect (15:25). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER

Making mistakes, unfortunately, is part of being human. But how do you handle mistakes on the job, especially if that job is something with such high stakes as civil engineering? Mike Howell has been helping engineers own and learn from their mistakes for years. He talks about how to stop trying to be perfect and start being human (2:50). In the debut of a segment called “True Adventures,” Cris Surbeck tells a story from early in her career when she learned a valuable lesson (13:40). And in Member Memos, we talk more about the art of making mistakes with civil engineers sharing valuable tips from their own careers (19:35). Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. * SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS * SUBSCRIBE IN GOOGLE PLAY * SUBSCRIBE IN SPOTIFY * SUBSCRIBE IN STITCHER