CEE alumni mentor students

November 10, 2021

Students in small group listening to CEE alumni.

CEE students interested in construction management met with Mizzou alumni construction professionals to learn more about the industry.

The Civil Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni held its first Student Mentoring Session on Monday, Nov. 8 at Mizzou Engineering.

“This is the inaugural mentoring event for civil and environmental engineering (CEE) led by our academy of distinguished alumni (CEADA),” Department Chair Praveen Edara said. “We want to make this event a regular occurrence so our students can interact with and learn from highly successful professionals.”

Students heard from accomplished Mizzou alumni now working in various civil engineering fields. After a general introduction, the students and alumni broke up into five groups based on career interest: construction, environment, geotechnical, structures or transportation. Each alum talked about their duties, challenges and insights in their respective fields.

The event was moderated by Frank Weatherford, current CEADA president and senior vice president of TranSystems, based in Kansas City, Missouri.

“We are in the people business,” he told students. “I want this event to give you a chance to build connections and relationships with Mizzou alumni now to help you land your first job and to support your career beyond that.”

Alumni guest speakers were:

  • Tim Crockett, P.E., owner, Crockett Engineering
  • Josh Doerhoff, P.E., vice president, Emery Sapp & Sons
  • Barb Frost, P.E., assistant vice president, TranSystems
  • Bryan Hartnagel, P.E., state bridge engineer, Missouri Dept. of Transportation
  • Cory Imhoff, P.E., associate vice president, HDR
  • Chip Jones, P.E., vice president, Emery Sapp & Sons
  • Jim Smith, P.E., senior professional engineer, Missouri Dept. of Transportation
  • Frank Weatherford, P.E., vice president, TranSystems
  • David Weber, P.E., principal, AllState Consultants

“There is more than 200 years of combined experience among these nine alumni. We are fortunate to have them share their wisdom with our students,” Edara said.

“I got a lot out of it, and it was nice hearing about how some of the knowledge I’m learning in class directly applies in industry,” Matt Pinner, CEE senior and Chi Epsilon president, said. “It was great to sit down informally for an extended period in small groups.”

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Chi Epsilon hosted the event.