Eileen Carmignani

Major: Civil Engineering                      Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities:
ASCE Student Chapter (American Society of Civil Engineering
-Active Member: All 4 years (Fr, So, Jr, Sr)
Concrete Canoe Captain: 2 years (Jr, Sr)
-First Valpo Canoe completed last year since 2010
-E-Board position as Conference Chair: 2 years (Jr, Sr)
-This included completing all registration, hotels, transportation, scheduling, and competitions organization for conferences that members of our student chapter attend. My position ensured that all submission deadlines were met.
-The major conference is the GLSC (Great Lakes Student Conference). At this conference, Valpo competes in many competitions in a variety of civil engineering disciplines including environmental, materials, geotechnical and surveying. Many of these require devices to be created in advance, or technical reports to be submitted.

NCAA D1 Athlete
-Cross Country, 4 years (Fr, So, Jr, Sr)
-Track and Field, 4 years (Fr, So, Jr, Sr)

Also participated in:
-House Council for my resident halls
-Alpha Lambda Delta
-Habitat for Humanity
-Intramural Sports

Other Valpo Experiences
Disney Engineering Trip, Fall 2013 and 2014
Dale Carnegie Class, Fall 2014
Dale Carnegie Course Coach, Spring 2015

Honors and Awards:
APWA (American Public Works Association) Award for Fox Valley Branch 2012, 2013, 2014

Cross Country: Most Improved Award, 2013

Cross Country: Coaches Award, 2014

ASCE Student Chapter Volunteer of the Semester, Fall 2013

ASCE Student Chapter Member of the Year 2014

Outstanding ASCE Student Award for Indiana State Section 2014

 

Nominated for 2015 Student Affairs Outstanding Leadership and Service Award for graduating Seniors at Valpo.

 

Internship(s):
Engineering Intern with Village of Bloomingdale, Illinois summer 2013 and 2014

My internship the past summers with the Village of Bloomingdale really opened my eyes to public works. I really enjoyed the projects I was able to work on and learned a lot.  Civil Engineering not only interests me because of the big picture aspect but because of the close networking with helping to public. It was a fantastic opportunity to work there. I did real design work of projects the first summer, and was requested back the second summer to supervise the construction of some of those projects.

Research Interest:
Through ASCE, we conducted our own research by testing various components and aggregates for concrete batches. Typical concrete is 150pcf, but in order for the canoe to float, the concrete must be less then water which is 65pcf. Testing lightweight aggregates was great hands on experience.

Favorite Quote:
“If you can dream it, you can do it. Remember that this whole thing started with a dream and a mouse” Walt Disney

“The road to success is always under construction” Lily Tomlin

Prospective plan for after graduation:
I accepted a job with HBK Engineering in Chicago before Christmas in the fall. Since then I have had multiple other offers that I have had to turn down. I owe a lot of my success to Valpo’s Engineering program and faculty.

Before I graduate I intend to receive my EIT license (Engineer in Training) by passing the FE Exam (Fundamentals of Engineering). I fully intend to acquire my PE license (Professional Engineering).

My future goal is to be a city civil engineer to enhance health, safety, and welfare for the city in which I am employed, plus those around me. I want to focus in transportation and stormwater management sub-disciplines of civil engineering.  Throughout my life I hope to always acquire knowledge through teamwork, invention, research, and outreach in my community.

Last academic year, my chapter has put forth over 400 hours into the construction of a Concrete Canoe. As Construction Chair as well as Canoe Captain for this project and learn a great deal. Valpo had not casted and raced a concrete canoe in the ASCE student conference in over 4 years. As canoe captain last year, I was extremely motivated to restart such a great hands on opportunity for students. It was a very successful year! In this position I completed all hull design and dimensioning for the canoe and coordinated all weekend workday involving construction of the form and canoe. We successfully transported and raced the canoe in every race. The memory of constructing the canoe, and then being able to race it in competition is one that I will never forget. This experience was extremely beneficially for me to learn how to plan, budget, coordinate, and execute a major construction project. I learned a lot about project management and staying on schedule. Keeping a scheduled also ensured that I never fall behind in my classes while working on extracurricular activities. These types of skills can be extremely beneficial to me as I advance in my career. 

Coming to Valpo has been the greatest decision of my life.