Erin McConville ’21

Engineering Designer, Consor Engineers

MAJOR: CIVIL ENGINEERING

“I was interested in UP because it has a great civil engineering program, small class sizes, and I grew up in the San Diego area and wanted to experience the Pacific Northwest. After sitting in on an engineering class, I was impressed by the collaboration between the students and professor.

My favorite class was my senior design class. My project involved mitigating flooding along International Way in the city of Milwaukie, just south of Portland, so I was excited to work on a project that benefitted the local area. Although using the modeling software was challenging, I enjoyed applying what I had learned to a real-world problem.

I became interested in studying civil engineering because there are many opportunities to serve the public through public infrastructure projects. While at UP, I participated in the Civil Engineering Cooperative Program (CECOP), which gave me two six-month paid internships. At my first internship with the City of Forest Grove, I worked on an ADA-compliance project requested by a local nonprofit that helps adults with disabilities become independent. It was so gratifying, I wanted to continue pursuing work that would positively impact local communities, and I was able to continue that work on state and local transportation projects at my second internship with Murraysmith (now Consor, my current employer).

The opportunities I experienced through UP were just as important as what I learned inside the classroom. I was very active with ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) and GEI (Global Engineering Initiative). My advice for future students is to get involved as much as you can.”