Page 12 - CEGE Magazine Spring 2021

Shout Out to Our Capstone Mentors!
Each year several engineers from the Twin Cities area step up to mentor a student group through CEGE’s pinnacle student experience, Capstone Design. We are so grateful for all who participate, and many participated multiple times. Here is just a glimpse from this spring’s Capstone projects. *Photos submitted by mentors
Tifft Nature Preserve Restoration project
“WE FIND THE UMN CAPSTONE MENTOR PROGRAM EXTREMELY REWARDING. THE STUDENTS ALWAYS BRING A FRESH PERSPECTIVE, AND THEIR ENTHUSIASM IS INFECTIOUS. THE PROGRAM IS A GREAT WAY TO STAY CONNECTED TO THE UNIVERSITY AND CONNECTED TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENGINEERS.”
— Craig Taylor, Nick Grewe, LimnoTech
Engineers express feelings about mentoring
“The City of Edina Engi- neering Department truly enjoys working with the capstone groups. They bring energy and ideas that are inspiring and appreciated.
I believe all those involved
learn something new and that is the greatest benefit of the program.” — Grace Hancock, Chad Millner, Andrew Scipioni, Nick Bauler, City of Edina
Three students visit solar job site
“AS CAPSTONE MENTORS, THE WESTWOOD TEAM THOROUGHLY ENJOYED TEACHING THE STUDENTS OUR CRAFT AND WATCHING THEM APPLY THEIR SKILLS TO DESIGN A UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR PROJECT.
WE HAD A HARD-WORKING AND EN- GAGED GROUP OF STUDENTS WHICH MADE THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE ORGANIZED AND PROFESSIONAL.”
— Mark Koivisto, Matt Wessale, Adam McDaniel, Westwood
“We at Stantec see tremendous value in opportunities like this Capstone class to work with the industry’s future inno- vators. By introducing young engineers to real-world projects, we’re able to provide early insights into the skills
and capabilities needed for a career in
engineering. Being an engineer involves a lot more than an understanding of basic scientific principles, it involves real-time decision-making, effective communications, and interpersonal skills. We hope that
the projects we selected for this year’s class not only provided a window into these aspects of the field, but also helped inspire students for what the future holds for them in the industry.”
— Tom Fidler, Tyler Johnson, Alan Offerman, Stantec
“MY EXPERIENCE AS A MENTOR HAS BEEN GREAT SO FAR. IT HAS BEEN INTERESTING TO LOOK AT A CONTAM- INATED SITE THROUGH THE PERSPEC- TIVE OF A YOUNG FUTURE ENGINEER, AND TO HELP THEM LEARN HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND REMEDIATE IT.”
– Ryan Oesterreich, Arcadis
Finished project analyzed and designed by Capstone team
12 CEGE | CSE.UMN.EDU/CEGE