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Whole Life Paper 1

Preston Williams ENGR 1201 Professor Hargrove September 21, 2012 Section 24

I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help on this assignment, nor witnessed any violation of the UNC Charlotte Code of Academic Integrity.

September 21, 2012

Passion

My individual passion is Civil Engineering. Ive had this passion since my sophomore year of high school. I was in a basic drafting class that was taught by Ms. Stubbs. Ms. Stubbs completely changed my view of drafting and engineering in total. It became my favorite class immediately. I was in the class before, during, and after school striving to design something new on AutoCAD. I started in the class by learning basic drafting tools and creating small simple drawings. By the end of the first drafting course I was creating new, innovative drawings that impressed my peers as well as my teacher. I then went into the second of the drafting classes. This class was more focused on Architectural design. I started the class by learning about the footings and crawl spaces in houses. I then went on to learn about the design and creation of houses. Before I knew it, I was creating one story two bedroom houses. By the end of the semester, I was designing four bedroom houses. I even created a cabin model with a spiral staircase, and second floor deck on it. Another experience was with my high school physics teacher, Mr. Sherwin. Mr. Sherwins class made me really start to consider engineering. I started to realize that I was rather good at Physics, especially in the categories of dynamics, circuits, and relativity. From my previous knowledge of math, Mr. Sherwin and I decided that engineering was a good idea for me. One day, while I was in high school, I got the opportunity to visit a civil engineering office where an adult friend from my church worked. I got to see, hands on, what civil engineers do on a day to day basis. One main thing I learned was the fact that engineering isnt all about the design process. There is a lot of paper work and surveying involved in the job. My experience with drafting and design classes in high school, I believe, gives me an advantage over the rest of the people in my field. I have developed a creative and innovative thought process because Im used to it from my experience in high school. My values will play a huge part in my field. As a civil engineer I will almost definitely be involved in environmental factors and will have a test of my true values. Also, I believe that one of my values is the fact that I can work in a team well. This will definitely come in handy because, as many of my advisors in college have told me, there is no solo engineer. My strengths in AutoCAD, I believe that I have an advantage over the people just learning to use the program. I also have experience in other programs such as Solid works and AutoCAD Civil.

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Impact

One of my very specific goals is to design a new innovative bridge for the future society. Id love to contribute something to society that will last for generations to come. One example of this is the Neuse River Gorge Bridge. The new River Gorge Bridge is located in Virginia. It is home to a very popular white water rafting river, the Neuse River:

If you ever get the chance to go over this bridge, you will never forget it. Its beam structure and overall beauty is something that cant be compared to any other structure on earth. The first time I went over this bridge I was so overwhelmed by it, I got chills and was in complete awe of it. I want to contribute to society in a way that no one has before and I believe that with the innovative mind that I have, I can do so. Civil Engineering has a lot of impact on the world today. It works on the improvement and care of the built and natural environments. It also deals with planning, design, operation, construction, and maintenance of buildings, dams, power facilities, pollution facilities, water supply, transportation systems, and (my favorite) bridges. Most people think that engineering is only about creating something new and building it. Engineering, especially civil engineering, doesnt just build and construct. It has a large percentage to do with the environment. For instance, as I stated, civil engineering has a large impact on one of the major problems the world has today, pollution. Potentially, geologists and environmentalists, and civil engineers could change the world.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

I consider myself a very creative person. When someone says it cant be done, I do everything in my ability to prove them wrong and half the time I succeed. I believe this, above all, is what will help me in becoming a civil engineer. Another skill I have is that I am very good at physics and mathematics. It has been this way ever since I was in sixth grade. I have always been the student that has to help other students with a new concept, or teach the class a new way of understanding. As for physics, I learned about this skill in junior year of high school. I did very well with in my physics class year and after that year I talked with my physics teacher and he told me to consider engineering.

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Another skill I have is with computer software. I am quite familiar with AutoCAD and AutoCAD Civil because of my experience in high school. I am also very familiar with Solid Works. With my experience in Drafting II Architecture, I believe that I have the upper-hand when compared to other engineering professionals. One job opportunity I found was located in Shanghai, China as a Senior Engineer in tire technology. Starting Salary is $60,000. The second opportunity was an environmental engineer in Denver, Colorado. The starting salary is $49,000. The third is in Nashville, Tennessee as a structural engineer. The starting salary is $57,000.

Next Steps

As I have mentioned my passion and my major is civil engineering in the specific area of structural engineering. Through this process of reflection, I have become even more excited for the future I have in this field. I plan to use my innovative and creative mind to change the world as we know it. Also from this reflection, I have changed my outlook on civil engineering from a personal level to a global impact level. I now am excited for how I will change the world rather than how I will change my personal life. Im excited for what I will create in the future. This assignment has definitely made me ponder my decision of the major I chose. I am now considering other fields in civil engineering such as environmental. I would also consider, as I mentioned in the description of the jobs, moving to another country to experience a new place and maybe learn a new thought process of engineers from that country.

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Works Cited

Jobs & Job Search Advice, Employment & Careers | Careerbuilder.com. Jobs & Job Search Advice, Emmployment & Careers |Careerbuilder.com http://www.careerbuilder.com (accessed September 21, 2012).

"New River (Kanawha River) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_River_(Kanawha_River) (accessed September 21, 2012).

Sorby, Sheryl Ann, and William M. Bulleit. An engineer's guide to technical communication. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.

Covey, Stephen R.. The 7 habits of highly effective people powerful lessons in personal change.. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1990.