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1201 004
Bill Lindsey
Alexis Carswell
Craig Berwick
Whole Life Concept Project Report

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Whole Life Concept Project Report
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Whole Life Concept Project Report

Craig Berwick

ENGR 1201-004
Bill Lindsey
Alexis Carswell
November 7, 2015

Whole Life Concept Project Report

November 7, 2015

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Introduction
This report will demonstrate that I know what my passion is and the ways to achieve
being able to pursue my passion in my workplace. I will explain how I identified my passion, the
impact my passion will have, the knowledge required to pursue my passion, and the
applications of my passion. I have started non-official research through my whole life on my
passion, such as talking to my parents on various occasions, reading articles online, and seeing
it every day, virtually or in real life. The desired professional outcome from my passion would to
become a renowned civil engineer that specializes in remolding existing structures to fit presentday restraints and occupations.
Passion
Ever since I was a little kid, I have always known my passion in life is reinventing the old
and making it new. The first time I can remember reinventing an object and turning it in to
something different and new was in the fifth grade. I decided to take a clickable highlighter, tear
it apart, put it back together, and in the end, I had a fully functioning catapult. I know that not
everything can be reinvented into a specific new object, but I do know that no matter what an
object does, it can always have a new purpose with enough ingenuity and creativity.
Experiences have mostly helped influence my passion of reinventing things. From sitting
at a school desk bored, to being home alone, I always ended up taking apart and putting back
together objects. My friends also influenced my passion because some of them share the same
passion so they would help me tear up anything we could find and create something knew,
especially my friend David.
David and I would wonder through the woods to try to find anything that the creek
washed along, and create a dam, a fort 10 feet into the tree, or a 50-foot-long zip line. We were
always creating and tearing apart old things that some other kids had made long ago. These
experiences were different because with every project we started, we promised each other to
not give up until it was completely finished. Most kids my same age would get a great idea, start
it, but end up forgetting about it and not finishing it. We always thought finishing it was the
greatest part because then we could admire our creations every time we wondered around
instead of looking at our failures of half-built forts.
Impact
My passion will impact many more people than just myself. An example of my passion of
helping others would be turning an old abandoned home or lot into a new park that children and
adults could use to relieve stress or to just be a healthy way to get away and enjoy a nice
relaxing moment. My passion could also turn an old building in a crowded district into a school
or business district that would attract people that may not have a school or business distract
near them. Another example could be an outdated bridge that wouldnt be able to support the
everyday loads of car traffic, and instead of tearing it down and creating a new bridge in the
same spot. You could leave it and turn it into a park where residents near the area could gather
and relax on a scenic creation, which would be able to hold the loads of foot traffic.
With the example of bridges, we have all seen the news talking about the ever-coming
dome of when our transportation infrastructure will finally give way and old bridges will start to
collapse, like some already have. These are issues that will need to be addressed, and one
solution would be to tear it down and create a newer and safer bridge. There are better

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solutions out there which could involve reinventing the bridge into a park or reinforced building,
so you wouldnt have to demolish a potentially great structure. There are also changing building
codes and overall styles of buildings and as these things change, so will the buildings and my
passion could help change the buildings as the styles and codes are changing with it.
Knowledge, Application, Skills and Abilities
To turn my passion into a career, I will need to acquire many skills and abilities. I will first
learn how to work with people because without that I wouldnt be able to get any projects done.
Most projects require a team of people working together every day and communication and
listening skills are a huge part of team work. I will also need to learn how to write technically
within the projects. Every piece of a project will require writing and without knowing how to
effectively write a professional document and get the point across in a simple manner, then the
project can fail. Math, IT, and science skills will play a huge part in getting most of the work done
with my passion since everything will use math to calculate and make sure nothing catastrophic
will happen. Sciences like physics and geology will also play huge parts in keeping the
reinvented structure stable and standing straight up. IT skills will be needed because a large
part of the work will be done on computers and knowing how to properly use computers in many
different ways will help with that. Presentation skills will be required when I am presenting to my
team, company, investor, and client. I will have to be able to clearly describe the project with
confidence to the audience or they wont trust the company, team, and myself. The final skill and
ability I will need is project management so I can keep the project on track and working
efficiently.
Knowledge and application are also parts of my passion that I will need to acquire before
I can start practicing my passion. I will need knowledge of legal regulations that are relevant to
the projects I will be working on. The classes I take during college will also add to my
knowledge, from calculus to engineering drawing, and it will be able to make sure my projects
are created with great confidence and accuracy.
The major I will be considering to pursue this passion will be civil engineering. I will have
a strong concentration in structural, while still focusing on a transportation side of civil
engineering. I will be able to impact the community with this civil engineering major and my
passion by creating structures from existing structures that are being used as efficiently as they
could be. I still have some questions about the major. For example, what are some of the things
I will be doing as I find a job to pursue my passion? Another concern of mine is if there will still
be jobs for me to get when I get out of college. To answer these questions, I will need to
research and talk to professionals and my professors.
Civil engineering is the best fit for me because it will allow me to practice my passion
and impact people of many different backgrounds and cultures. I will be able to create new
buildings out of old with this major. Also, if I concentrate in transportation, I will be able to turn
old roads, bridges, and tunnels into new structures with new uses like parks. The plan of study
for a civil engineering major has a lot of math, science, English, and engineering specific
courses. Some of the math courses include: Calculus I, II, & III, Differential Equations, and
Probability and Statistics for engineers. Science courses include: a science elective, Physics for
Science and Engineering I with a lab, and Principles of Chemistry I with a lab. Writing and
Inquiry in Academic Contexts I & II are the English courses. Engineering specific courses make
up most of the classes and include: Introduction to Engineering I & II (specific for civil
engineering), Engineering Economic Analysis, Civil Engineering Drawing, Engineering
Mechanics I, Surveying and Site Design, Sophomore Design, Introduction to Solid Mechanics,

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Structural Mechanics Lab, Hydraulics And Hydrology, Introduction to Environmental Engineering

with a lab, Geotechnical Engineering with a lab, Structural Analysis, Transportation Engineering
with a lab, Construction Engineering, Professional Development, and many engineering
electives. The summary of the academic plan of study for civil engineering can be found in
Appendix 1A. These classes help prepare me for my career by providing me with the
knowledge, skills, abilities, and application needed to successfully and efficiently work in the civil
engineering field with or without a team.
I expect to use many of the classes listed above to help me impact the community. One
of the most important classes for my passion would be Structural Analysis to help me
understand structures and engineer better structures. Physics will also be a major class for me
because it will help me understand how the earth works and what forces actually cause a
building to fail so I can know how to not let the building become a failure. Civil Engineering
Design will help me learn to draw and design structures for buildings that I will reinvent in the
future. These three classes will definitely help me impact the community by reinventing existing
structures and turning them into new structures.
Sources to help me develop my skills are internships where I am working in the field with
other civil engineers. This will provide me with a lot of experience and help me learn what being
a civil engineer actually means. Talking to professionals who work in the field will also help me
get a huge understanding of what is needed of me so I can refine my skills that will be needed.
Refining those skills will take researching online and in libraries, and I always think YouTube
videos can teach you a lot about a specific subject in a very short time period. All of these
sources will help me learn skills that will in turn help me provide impacts from my passion. I will
work as a server this summer to help develop my communication and teamwork skills. Even
though serving doesnt directly involve civil engineering, it does involve skills that deal with inperson relationships and communication that I can use in civil engineering. Engaging in
computer workshops will help me learn how to use the computer and the programs in the
computer much better, so I wont have to slow down my work with not knowing how to use a
program. This will help me impact people quicker and more efficient than without this skill. All of
these skills I am going to be learning will help my main cause which is to help people and
impact their lives by changing old buildings into new and exciting buildings.
Reflection and Conclusion
My passion can be narrowed down and easily explained as reinventing. Reinventing can
be thought to mean many things, but with my passion, it means changing old into new. This
change will be especially relevant to buildings and transportation system. Buildings would
include changing old abandoned or not in use buildings into new buildings with the same
purpose or a completely different purpose depending on the project. Transportation part of my
passion would include bridges and tunnels and how to re-structuralize old bridges or change
them into something new with a new purpose like a park. Mainly, my passion is reinventing old
structures and making them new.
The whole life concept model is very relevant and important at this stage of my career. It
helps me understand the process of how to apply my passion. If I wouldnt have figured out my
passion and learned how to research and apply my passion, and I wouldnt be able to get the
knowledge needed for my passion throughout my college career. Without knowledge, I wouldnt
be able to apply the skills needed in my workforce. Without the skills needed to apply my
passion in the work force, I wouldnt be able to impact the community, economy, environment,
and health of the human race. Examples of this would be not learning English skills. This would

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in turn not let me communicate effectively with my team. Also, if I didnt know how to apply
planning, I wouldnt be able to get anything done with my team so there would be no impact
because the client would probably choose another team who would be able to plan and get their
project finished effectively. If I didnt know my passion at this stage, I wouldnt be able to figure
anything out because I could be studying how to cook a gourmet meal when my passion is
reinventing structures. That is why knowing your passion is so important at this stage because
without knowing your passion, the rest falls apart.
In completing this report, I have learned many things about myself and my passion. I
have learned that I myself need to really start focusing on my passion and how to get a job that
my passion involves when I get out of college. I have also learned that my passion is still too
broad and that I need to narrow it down to either structures or transportation so I can really find
what knowledge I need to pursue my true passion. The last thing I learned is that I need to start
looking for internships, which would really help me acquire more skills and knowledge about my
passion so I could do better in college and when I get out of college. My plans for the future
have changed with this whole process. In high school, I wanted to design new buildings as an
architect. When senior year came around, I learned that I would rather engineer the buildings
that the architect designs and make them a reality. Now, I have learned that my true passion is
taking a preexisting structure and turning it into a new structure.
I came into college as a civil engineering major and I am happy to say that I have
become more confident in this major. Through principals of engineering and this whole life
concept project report, I have learned that my true passion is reinventing, and the best way for
me to do this is through structural engineering. Civil engineering is definitely the right choice for
me and I dont think that will change because my passion will forever be there. My passion has
been there since I was a kid and has lasted this long, and I dont see why it will change.

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References
"Academic Plan of Study." Civil and Environmental Engineering. Accessed November 6, 2015.
"B.S.E.T. in Civil Engineering Technology Academic Plan of Study." Academic Plan of Study.
Accessed November 6, 2015.
"Civil Engineer Job Information." National Careers Service. Accessed November 6, 2015.
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/civilengine
er.aspx.
"Program Information." Civil and Environmental Engineering. Accessed November 6, 2015.

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Appendix
1.

A.