Page 4 - Class of 2020

Our Challenge
A message for the CEGE Graduating Class of Spring 2020 from Graduating Senior Alicia Stone (BGeoE 2020)
Today I can say, “I am a Geoengineer.” Some of you can say, “I am an Envi- ronmental Engineer,” while most of
you will say, “I am a Civil Engineer.” We’ve come a long way since stepping foot in good old CivE (a place I miss more today than I thought I ever would). As we take the next steps in our lives, whether that be entering the workforce, going to graduate school, or some other adventure, we will encounter new challenges.
The biggest challenge facing us as civil, envi- ronmental, and geo- engineers today is how to create the infrastructure and systems
necessary to support a growing population sustainably. Tackling this challenge will require us to work together and innovate in our areas of expertise.
We must harvest wind energy, invest in electric vehicle infrastructure, expand public transport, design lasting structures and mines, and conduct thoughtful remediation work. I wish you could see me looking at you as I go through this list, because I can think of individuals that have been involved in each of these issues. CEGE and the University of Minnesota have done an outstanding job preparing us for the challenges ahead.
Our majors are not easy: I’ve seen a roommate struggle through thermodynamics and organic chemistry, watched friends spend hours struggling through steel and concrete design modeling trusses and frames in multiple dimensions. Honestly, as a geoengi- neer, I thought I had dodged most of the tough classes in this department until last fall when Rock Mechanics hit us geoengineers like a ton of bricks. I think we all still have nightmares about the Lame solution and the elastic-plastic boundary.
We have all spent diligent hours mastering the technical side of civil, environmental, or geo- engineering. But our technical knowledge alone is not what has selected us for these fields. The personality we bring is why this class of 2020 is going to thrive in the world of engineering. As I look back, I can think of a time where I’ve interacted with almost every person in this graduating class: whether it was as part of a group project, through a mutual interest, or simply talking briefly because we sat next to each other in class. This is a group of socially active, well-rounded people.
We are influential, generous, athletic, creative, musical, political, adventurous...the list goes on. We’re graduating with people who have led student organizations of over 300 people and others who’ve led large-scale philanthropy events. We’re graduating with individuals that have planned career and networking events and people who’ve led a variety of both engineering and non-engineering groups and intermural teams. We’re graduating with a D1 athlete and more than a few marathon runners. We are graduating with artists and musicians including multiple people who were in the U of M marching band. We are graduating with political activists with a passion for