Congratulations to our 2023 scholarship winners!
Olivia Williams
"I am currently working part-time at Wallace Group here in SLO, in their Water Resources department. I am also an active member of SENVE, and I’m on the Officer Board of Cal Poly’s Chi Epsilon chapter in the role of Alumni Coordinator. Previously, I have been involved with WESTT research on campus, and I have worked at internships at the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, and Kimley-Horn on their Environmental team.
Jonathan Maas
"I am currently involved in the concrete canoe team. I am a junior mix captain and will be a senior captain next school year. I am also heavily involved in Cru, a Christian group on campus and lead a Bible study with that. The past two summers I worked at a Christian summer camp in Siskiyou County called Kidder Creek. That was a great experience, being in nature and telling kids about Jesus. After finishing my bachelors, I hope to get a master's degree and then go into the workforce and get a job with a unique sounding title in the civil engineering field."
Gerardo Hernandez
"I am a second-year transfer student from Allan Hancock College. At Cal Poly, I have been involved in SHPE, ASCE, and the steel bridge competition on campus. I am also involved in the ENGAGE program, Engineering Neighbors: Gaining Access, Growing Engineers, and Cal Poly Scholars. For the summer of 2021 I performed survey work such as monument perpetuation prior to construction. The following summer of 2022, I returned to Santa Barbara County in which I acted as a resident engineer on federally funded projects.
After graduating Cal Poly, I plan on gaining experience in Construction Engineering and I will also continue to pursue my PE license. After gaining some experience, I plan on returning to school to acquire a master's degree."
Joselyne Martinez
"I am a first-generation transfer student studying Civil Engineering with a minor in Heavy Civil Construction. I left Cabrillo Community College with a great foundation to succeed at a rigorous four-year institution, five Associate’s Degrees, and a passion for engineering. I currently serve as the Transfer Representative for the Civil Engineering Department’s Student Advisory Board (SAB) and am a member of Chi Epsilon (XE).
Throughout my career as a student of engineering, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great companies in the industry. I worked with Pacific Crest Engineering Inc. for two years, where I learned to love the investigative aspect of geotechnical engineering and subsurface exploration. I also spent the summer of 2021 with Granite Construction, where I learned more about the complexity of the construction industry from a general contractor’s point of view. Furthermore, I am thrilled to announce that I will be spending my last internship opportunity this upcoming summer with Traylor Bros., Inc. in their Underground Division. I’ll be working on their IPL 19 – Long Tunnel Crossings project located in Texas.
After graduation, I plan to work for a company with a reputable underground division since my true passion lies in tunnel engineering. I also dream of helping create a more diverse and equitable space in the industry for other people in marginalized or underrepresented communities."
Matthew Latham
"I intend to pursue a PhD after graduation and hope to continue to work in academia as a professor."
Jonathan Keefer
"I am an active member of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Honors Society, Chi Epsilon, as well as Cal Poly's SCE chapter. I have had two internships during my time at Cal Poly; my first was with Nova Group Inc. in Napa, CA and my last internship was with Argonaut Constructors in Santa Rosa, CA. I plan to graduate in June 2023 and begin my professional career with GMH Builders as a Project Engineer in Sonoma, CA."
Erin Lyn DeAngelis
"I am a third-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering. On campus, I am an active member of the Chi Epsilon Engineering Honor Society as well as the Society of Environmental Engineers, where I hold an officer position. Throughout my undergraduate, I have participated in a variety of hands-on experiences through competition teams like ECi Consulting and Pacific Southwest Conference, where I collaborated with my peers to build a water filtration system.
Carinna Swann
"I transferred to Cal Poly in 2020 during the pandemic in my junior year. With all classes online, it was difficult to meet other students. I joined various clubs and societies and found people that supported me and my interests in the student chapter of AWWA Cal Poly SLO and the Environmental Engineering Society. In 2021, I was elected as an AWWA Cal Poly SLO officer and in 2022, was elected president of the chapter. As an officer, I have worked to provide learning opportunities around the greater world of water resources, and to create accessibility to hands-on projects, networking, and conferences in the water field.
I worked a summer internship with the Santa Clara Valley Water District as a Groundwater Management Intern, testing agricultural wells and interfacing with customers in the well testing program. I learned that agencies are subject to public pressures that influence their decisions, and that environmental sustainability must be in balance with public needs. This broadened my perspective on environmental policies and allowed me to recognize the struggles agencies face when trying to create positive environmental change.
My summer internship as a Research Apprentice studying fog collection with the California State University Monterey Bay, taught me that water sustainability is a three-dimensional issue that needs to be tackled from many angles. Fog collectors are part of the solution to water scarcity in areas with significant fog and little surface water but are not a universal fix. My research on fog collection, along with the hands-on aspects of building and designing a field study, provided me with a full circle understanding of one type of water resource design and how much thought and knowledge goes into exploring and designing solutions to water shortages."