I grew up as a “normal” kid. I spent my childhood going to school, doing my best to get good grades (especially in math), and playing with my friends. Pretty standard stuff for any kid raised in the New Jersey suburbs. One thing that I can distinctly remember most from my childhood though was my love for toy models. I spent hours building, dissembling, re-building, and trying to different ways to assemble these models. So, naturally, when I grew up, I wanted to be an…..ARCHITECT!
Wait a second…what? You must be wondering how the heck I ended up being a Transportation Engineer.
Well, as I got older, a few key events helped to really shape my ultimate career path. First, I got my driver’s license and as someone who enjoyed sleeping in, and having the farthest possible assigned parking space in high school, I unknowingly was introduced to the concept of Travel Time. I remember asking myself daily questions like “Which way should I go today?”, “What areas in town should I avoid?”, and “What route will get me to school the fastest?” Since these were the days before GPS and Waze, my plans usually backfired, but nonetheless my love for transportation was forged in the planning of these routes.
After high school, I enrolled at THE College of New Jersey as a Civil Engineering undergraduate in the fall of 2010. Again, I was a pretty typical young engineering student trying to figure things out. It wasn’t until I got my first internship with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, that I realized how much I loved transportation. Roadways. Bridges. Large Construction Projects. I was so fascinated with the work I was involved with. I specifically recall one day when I was out in the field with one of the supervising engineers observing guiderail installation. I literally thought it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Then in the following semester, I presented a project which outlined an agency capital project that I worked on.
As a senior, I secured a new internship with Maser Consulting and my summer there was nothing short of amazing! It really opened my eyes even more my passion for transportation because it made me see the people aspect of the profession. Transportation is something that effects everyone! It’s the kid who just got his license, driving safely to high school for the first time. It’s getting to the airport on time before a trip to visit someone you love. It’s even just going for a drive, just getting out on the road because you like to drive. Sometimes, people take transportation for granted but it is a driving (pun intended) force behind so many decisions in our lives including where we work, live, and play. Once I realized this side of the industry, I was hooked, and I knew this is where I belonged. The ability to supply a service which ultimately provides positive impacts to countless people gave me no better feeling in the world.
I never left that summer internship. I am in my 8th year with the company, now Colliers Engineering & Design, and I am so excited for what the future has in store for me and the rest of our industry!