Next Steps

CHRIS ENRIGHT, P.E., M.ASCE, has been with the Colorado Department of Transportation for just over two years, starting as an intern and moving up through three levels of engineer-in-training until he earned his professional engineer license in the spring.

He was then promoted to P.E. I, where he leads some of the largest projects on CDOT ’s schedule, including bridge replacements, interchange reconfigurations, and a massive planned passenger rail service. He is also a lieutenant with the Golden Gate Fire Protection District, an experience that he says has given him a “bias toward action.”

KATIE BOWMAN, P.E. , M.ASCE, held two jobs in consulting—with Stantec in Santa Barbara, California, and Kimley-Horn in Memphis, Tennessee— before returning to the University of Memphis, where she is pursuing her master’s degree in civil engineering and working as a graduate research assistant under the direction of Stephanie Ivey, P h. D ., A.M.ASCE, the associate dean for research at the Herff College of Engineering and the director of the West Tennessee STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Hub and the Southeast Transportation Workforce Center at the University of Memphis.

Bowman is assisting Ivey on three transportation projects that align with her personal dedication to helping students of all ages and backgrounds and making a long-lasting difference in the world.

Aafreen Latheef, EIT, A.M.ASCE, landed her first engineering job shortly after graduating from the University of California, Davis with a degree in civil engineering and a minor in construction engineering and management. She has been working in the field ever since, primarily on projects like levees and slurry walls that reduce the risk of flooding.

While at college, she was vice president of an organization that helped fellow Muslim students acknowledge and deal with their stress and anxiety—a topic often considered taboo in her culture. She says her natural optimism and penchant for problem solving have helped her in both roles.

Just six years after obtaining her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Cornell University, Melissa Fickel, P.E., M.ASCE, has been chosen as a rising star at Parsons Corp., the Centreville, Virginia-based, 16,000 employee, multidisciplinary engineering firm. She was recently accepted into the firm’s early management acceleration program (EMAP), a highly competitive leadership training course for up-and-coming managers.

“I believe this is because I have raised my hand for new work roles, completed voluntary management courses, and networked within my company,” Fickel says. But being a go-getter all her life has also taken its toll, and Fickel recently took some time off to address a stress-related illness. Now back and ready to roll, Fickel has learned key lessons on the necessity of balancing work and self-care.

IT WOULD BE EASY TO ASSUME that Siavash Zamiran, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, doesn’t get much sleep. Zamiran, who was presented with the ASCE Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award in 2019, works full time as a geotechnical engineer for St. Louis-based Marino Engineering Associates Inc. (MEA), teaches geotechnical engineering on an adjunct basis at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), and serves as the chair of the Sustainability Committee for the St. Louis Section.

He says his enthusiasm, optimism, organizational skills, and devotion to self-improvement keep him going. By continuing to teach in the subjects in which he practices, he maintains up-to-date knowledge and skills. And by reading, networking, and listening to podcasts, he has learned how to manage his time and tasks to achieve a rewarding balance of work, school, and life.

IT’S RARE THAT ANYONE’S FIRST JOB after college is a perfect fit, but for Madeley Arriola Guerrero, A.M.ASCE, research, patience, and persistence paid off.

As an associate engineer in the West Palm Beach, Florida, office of Chen Moore and Associates, she is using the technical education and software expertise she obtained at the University of Florida to model and design potable water and force main systems for a variety of clients. By taking her time to research different companies and evaluate their corporate cultures, she was able to find an employer that supports her desire to increase her skills and learn at a fast pace.

MOSTAQUR RAHMAN, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, is passionate about pavement. “I always wanted to contribute to the community by working in the transportation industry,” he says.

His education led him toward improving the way states investigate, log, maintain, and improve their pavements. This is why it might surprise some to learn about his second passion: writing. His theory is that by maintaining a balance between the technical and the creative, his contributions to his company, his career, and his clients will be all the richer.