Sometimes the best way to remember the story of a certain time is through the words people said during that time.
In that spirit, here is ASCE’s year in quotes:
SPRING 2020
“Downtown Seattle is really a ghost town. There’s not a lot of people around, not a lot of cars. When the light-rail train lets out, there’s just a few people walking from it instead of the usual throng. That’s the weird thing. It’s eerie.”
– Daniel Dovey, P.E., M.ASCE, traffic design engineer, King County Department of Transportation, Seattle
Read “How civil engineering works when civil engineers work from home”
“First of all, I feel fortunate to be able to [work from home]. Not everybody has the opportunity to do that. It’s not being taken for granted by me, the fact that I can take my laptop home and work and get paid for it. But I do miss some small things – chatting with colleagues face-to-face over some tea.”
– Jameelah Ingram, P.E., M.ASCE, lead structural engineer, WSP USA, Washington, D.C.
Read “How civil engineering works when civil engineers work from home”
“It was definitely different. It was interesting seeing your dean in her living room talking to you.”
– Kacy Grundhauser, A.M.ASCE, on celebrating her graduation from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, in a virtual ceremony
Read “College graduation week goes virtual”
SUMMER 2020
“I think any good-hearted, compassionate human being is hurt by what we’ve seen in America. I also believe that sometimes things do not impact us as much as they should unless they are happening to us or to someone we love or care about. I say that to admonish you to examine your network – personally and professionally. If it looks too homogenous, expand it. If more people do this, fewer will be numb to the experiences of others. When things ‘hit home,’ people are more likely to take action for change.”
– Yvette E. Pearson, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, associate dean for accreditation, assessment, and strategic initiatives at Rice University in Houston; chair of ASCE’s Members of Society Advancing an Inclusive Culture (MOSAIC), in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing
Read “I can’t breathe, and this is why”
“I walk into the office every single morning with a disinfectant wipe in my hand. I wipe the doorknob and then work my way through the office and wipe down the copier, the touch screens, the water cooler, the coffee maker, the bathrooms. That’s how I start my day every day.”
– Joe DiPompeo, P.E., F.SEI, F.ASCE, 2021 president of ASCE’s Structural Engineering Institute; founder and president of Structural Workshop LLC, Mountain Lakes, New Jersey
Read “The not-so-simple return to the civil engineering office”
FALL 2020
“I’m finding these events, and I like it because I’m able to just join. I don’t need to go anywhere. I can just join whatever I see online. It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s more information for me to learn!’ I like it.”
– Maria Kozdroy, EIT, A.M.ASCE, civil engineer, United States Merchant Marine Academy/USDOT, Kings Point, New York
Read “Welcome to the era of the virtual event”
“If anything, the pandemic has shown that our work is essential to maintaining public health, safety, and quality of life. While the timing may be uncertain, we are looking forward to a future where the industry continues the positive trends we’ve seen of increased demand for the skills and expertise that civil engineers possess.”
– K.N. Gunalan, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE, ASCE 2020 president
Listen to Gunalan discuss COVID-19 on the ASCE Plot Points podcast
