Civil Engineering - Interview with Azeezah Ladoja

Let's explore the world of Civil Engineering! In this episode we talk about a couple early female trailblazers in civil engineering that attended Cornell, and how the building of the Brooklyn Bridge was actually saved and finished by a woman.  Current student, Azeezah helps us understand what civil engineering is and how she found her way from the UK to Ithaca to study it. And finally, we finish by talking with another colleague in my office, Robyn, about how her unique background in engineering helps in her admissions work.

https://www.cee.cornell.edu/cee/programs/undergraduate-programs/civil-engineering-major
https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/celebrating-140-years-women-cornell-engineering
https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions
https://visit.engineering.cornell.edu/
https://visit.engineering.cornell.edu/project/civil-engineering/

Transcript

Opening Credits:

Teri:

Hi, I'm Teri Carey and welcome to VIEW, Voices of Incredible Engineering Women. Are you interested in math and science? Are you curious about the world? Are you an engineer? Well, maybe you don't know yet! The world of engineering is huge and we want girls to be included in the future of it. So grab a cup of coffee, get your curiosity going and listen in as we talk to real women studying engineering at Cornell.

We hope you enjoy our view.

Introduction Segment:

Hi everyone! Welcome back to VIEW. I’m your host Teri Carey. Today we are talking about Civil Engineering. Recently I’ve been visiting some schools with younger students like 5th, 6th grade and doing presentations on what engineering is - hoping to spark their interest and open their eyes to how it is all around us. A question I ask at the very beginning of the presentation is, what in this room has been engineered? They usually point to lights, fans, computers, and I agree with them and say yes all these things were created to solve a problems using math and science. But then I say what if I told you the whole room or even building was engineered - and their eyes light up and they realize hey yeah… this building was built to solve a problem (where do we educate our children!) and I say do you know who helped build this? A Civil Engineer! Civil engineers help to build, plan, design, and oversee the construction and maintenance of building and infrastructure projects. I think it is really neat that Civil Engineering is truly something that you see everyday, and maybe not even realize how much you depend on it.  Each building you are in, each road you drive on, the sewer systems you depend upon to work for water and waste… all products of civil engineering. They make amazing feats of structure happen like skyscrapers, and super long bridges, putting trains underground in subways, helping to keep us all connected and able to explore the world around us. And I’d argue this is one of if not the oldest types of engineering. Think about the pyramids of Egypt, Stone Hendge, aqueducts of Rome, Aztec temples, or how early villages were built or laid out - all of this was civil engineering. As I was researching for this episode I wondered, why is it called civil engineering? So I looked into it, and I found out that the term Civil Engineering started in the 18th century when people wanted to distinguish between military engineering, and engineering being done outside of the military… by civilians for civil purposes. So there you go, a little bit of history to help you understand the origins of civil engineering. 

Alright, are you ready to get a bit more history in here? I have 2 Civil engineering trailblazers I want to introduce to you. The first one is Nora Stanton Blatch Barney. In 1905 she was the first woman to graduate with a degree in Civil engineering in the U.S. Her alma mater? Cornell… she was also the first woman to graduate from Cornell with an engineering degree. She enrolled in civil engineering because she said it was the most male dominated field she could find. Which she was right! She became the first female member of the American Society of Civil Engineers as a junior member in 1905. She was a junior member because of her age, and when she turned 32 in 1915 she applied to be an associate member. Unfortunately, she was denied that membership because as a woman she did not have the ability to hold high ranking engineering titles (even though she had 10 years of experience as an asst engineer and draftsman) and she sued ASCE. It went all the way to the Supreme Court, but unfortunately again they ruled in ASCE’s favor and she was not allowed to continue as a member. She was a vocal advocate for suffrage, went on to be a real estate developer and architect. She died in 1971, but in 2015 the president of ASCE learned about Nora and wanted to make it right, so 100 years after she first requested to be an associate member, she posthumously became a fellow of ASCE.  

The second trailblazer I want to highlight is Dorothy Allison Carlin. She was the seventh woman to study engineering at Cornell, and went on to help build some of the most traveled transportation hubs in the world. She was the first woman employed by the Philadelphia Transit Department and helped to create the high-speed rail connection between Philadelphia and New Jersey. She later served as an engineer for projects like the Dulles International Airport, JFK Airport, and the iconic St. Louis Gateway Arch. 

Ok one more story I’d love to share with you. It’s about the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. It was designed by John Roebling. He was overseeing construction, but was injured and passed away during the first 4 years of the project. His son, Washington Roebling took over after his father’s passing and led the project.  A part of his job in overseeing the construction was to go down into caissons which are watertight chambers that helped protect the builders while constructing the foundation of the bridge in the water. Unfortunately doing this repeatedly gave him decompression sickness also known as the bends, and he became very ill, partially blind, paralyzed and deaf.  So in order to continue moving forward with the project, his wife, Emily Roebling picked up the project and coordinated the end of the construction. She had been by his side since the beginning, and Washington shared all his information with her as he oversaw the bridge construction. She learned about stress analysis, material strength, cable construction, and calculations for structures and advocated for her husband to continue to be the project manager. She was the liaison between him and the project, overseeing it all on his behalf and implementing all his plans. She became the surrogate chief engineer on the project and saw it to completion. So one of the most famous bridges in the country, if not the world, was made possible by a woman stepping in and ensuring it was completed. Emily was highlighted a few years ago in the New York Times as a part of their “Overlooked” series. Honoring people who made incredible contributions to the world, but were buried in history due to gender or race. What an amazing woman.

So if you stare in amazement at skyscrapers, wonder how bridges are built, get excited about travel, or have had your eyes opened to the fact that you’re always surrounded by infrastructure, then maybe civil engineering is for you. Someone who found this field and is studying it here at Cornell is current student, Azeezah, and I’m really excited to share her journey with you all. 

Student Interview:

Teri 

Hi Azeeza, thank you so much for joining us today.

Azeezah 

Hi Teri, thanks so much for having me.

Teri 

I would love for you to just introduce yourself to everyone.

Azeezah 

Yeah, so I'm currently a rising senior. I am majoring in civil engineering and hoping to minor in architecture. And I was born in the US but raised in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, then moved over back here for college again. And my favorite thing to do is to read a good book.

Teri

Awesome. Thank you. I love hearing about your background. I can't wait to talk to you a bit about how you kind of journeyed to Cornell. But before we get to that, I'd love to hear how you got into engineering and when that kind of sparked into your life.

Azeezah 

Yeah, so growing up actually, for some reason, anytime something was just wrong in my household, I always seemed to be the kid who would be asked to fix it. I remember fixing the TV or just fixing something simple, but just taking out the batteries and putting it back in a remote control. And suddenly I was amazing to my parents and stuff. So I just kind of always had that little thing in me that's kind of like… wanted to fix things, just wondering like why things were the way they were and I was also like pretty good at maths like growing up as well. So I guess like when it came time to pick something to want to study at college, engineering just kind of seemed the most like natural thing like for me to do and in particularly like civil engineering really I gravitated towards that a lot especially in high school when I just first learnt about like the whole idea of like resonance. I think resonance is basically when the vibrations of two things match up together. And so you see a lot in bridges and stuff like that. And my physics teacher had showed us this video of this bridge collapse. And I was like, wow, that's really sad, obviously. But I guess, cool, just how you can have that intersection between physics, but also human nature at the same time and helping to serve people and stuff. And I felt civil engineering in particular was just a very good like major that kind of like focus on that, especially with like my background, like being raised, having my early years being in Nigeria and just like, I guess, like seeing like bad integrity of infrastructure and things like that. Just really want, I was just really, I had an eye for that and like wanting to like give back to improve the infrastructure in places that maybe it's like not that good was I guess sort of like my main motivation behind wanting to study civil engineering.

Teri 

Awesome. So you're a natural problem solver, whether it was inside your house and trying to figure out what was going wrong. But I love that you applied that then to this civil engineering problem, and you were fascinated by bridges. That's really, really cool. So you talk about you've lived in a lot of different areas. I'm wondering how you found Cornell. I've interviewed other students, and they either live around here or they're at least familiar with schools in the area. So I would love to hear how you found Cornell and what it was like to actually get in to receive that email that said you are going to be a part of Cornell Engineering.

Azeezah 

Yeah, so for some reason, I guess my dream was always to go to school in New York. And this is kind of funny actually, because me and my bad year of rookie skills, you might say, I guess me and my parents didn't actually realize how far Cornell actually was from New York City. I literally thought I would be in New York City, which is actually really funny. But then obviously, I think it's a common thing.

Teri 

You're not the only one. There are other students think this as well.

Azeezah 

So yeah, that was kind of funny, but I guess in terms of applying, because I honestly wasn't really sure I was going to get in. Like I honestly just applied to like a couple US unis just as like, let's just try it out and like see what happens. I honestly didn't have any expectations whatsoever. And I think I got, I got a most likely email actually. So I was even more taken off guard because it was just the middle of the night and I was like, this email from Cornell, what is this? And I was like, you got in. So I was like, I almost didn't even know how to like react. I just like called my mom and told my roommate in boarding school and I was like, yeah, guys, like, I got in like, I didn't think this would happen. I'm already sure what to do right now. So yeah, it was like really like interesting because I just wasn't expecting it. But I was like, obviously really proud. I got in and stuff. I remember like my sister and mom sent me flowers and just it just was really nice. Yeah, so that's kind of and I was like, yeah, I got in. So I think I should go like it's a great opportunity. They have great engineering program is my first initial thought. I was like, let's just like try this out and see how it is. And yeah, here I am like almost four years later now.

Teri 

That is so cool. So in the middle of the night, I haven't put that together that sometimes our letters and our emails go out at different times around the world. So I'm sure there are students who are up.

Azeezah 

Yeah, because I had the time zone. Yeah, I was like, this is getting ready to go to bed. And I got this email.

Teri 

Yeah, that's really funny to think about. And you were away from your family, so I'm glad you were able to share it with them, even if it wasn't in person. But sending flowers is so lovely. That's so nice. 

Azeezah 

I’m a big fan of flowers.

Teri

OK, so you obviously are at Cornell studying civil engineering. Can you tell me in your own words what civil engineering actually is? And you touched a little bit about why you chose the major, but maybe any other exploration that you've had here that confirmed why civil engineering was right for you.

Azeezah 

Yeah, so I think in my own words and like you'll hear different things, but I guess civil engineering is kind of, but just like the engineering behind buildings, bridges, just sort of like even roads, transportation, like sort of any infrastructure you see, it's probably a civil engineer like behind that. And that was something that also surprised me as well. I honestly didn't realize how like broad the major actually is. Like I've done transportation classes, I've done economics classes, like it really just covers like a… a huge range and I think a lot of the time as well too everyone always wonders like what is the difference between civil engineering and architecture and when people ask me that I always explain as like civil engineers are the people who make the designs the architects design like stand up like we're the ones who actually make them like viable and like livable and like have structural integrity and stuff like that so yeah.

Teri 

Very cool. And you are minoring in architecture as well. So I think that's really cool that you can put those together. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Azeezah 

Yes, I. Yeah, so I think like it's one of those things where like it just in my head because like, yes, I'm a civil engineer, but I also have an interest in design and stuff. And I think it also really helps my engineering skills being able to look from that different perspective. Like it's not all about just like, maybe the calculations, like the maths behind this. It can also be about like the beauty around it as well too. And I also think sometimes when you think of engineering, you don't really think of that, but like it's always been important like for me, I guess, like throughout my journey to still remain true to that and just to still have that eye of beauty and stuff. Because engineering can be beautiful. And I think it's pretty beautiful. So I just think it's important to always stay true to that.

Teri 

Yeah, there's creativity in it. And people obviously rely on bridges to be structurally sound. That's the most important part. But it's also the fascination of how beautiful these structures can actually be as well. All of these famous, whether it's a bridge or a building, for it to be noticeable or unique, I think that's a great way to bring those two worlds together, that you have the design and that it's going to stay standing the way it should be with all of the calculations and everything that go behind it.

Azeezah

Yes.

Teri 

Okay, so here at Cornell, our program is within a department of civil and environmental engineering. In each of these episodes that I always talk about how engineering is never done in a vacuum. There's always overlays of other engineering disciplines or fields. So can you tell me how civil and environmental engineering go hand in hand or what your experience has been with that?

Azeezah

Yes, honestly, we go majorly hand in hand. Like a lot of the classes we take, especially like in the engineering schools, particularly, we take those with the environmental engineers. Like one of the first friends I made at Cornell was an environmental engineer. And like we really initially bonded over having the same classes and stuff and like similar interests. I would say in terms of environmental engineering, like they focus like more, I guess, on like renewable energies on like systems and things like that. But like, because the majors are so diverse, you can sort of go through any path you want. I know some civil engineers who have a more environmental engineering focus and vice versa as well, environmental engineers who have a more civil engineering focus as well too. And honestly, I take a lot of the same classes as environmental engineers because there's just so much overlap between us, which is really cool because it's really fun being able to interact with a different major that's so closely linked to yours but also like bond over our differences as well too.

Teri

Yeah. You have a background that touches another field. I think that's really cool. And you see that throughout lots of the majors, right? Mechanical engineering, computer science, you know, ORIE, all of these are overlapping in some way. But it's unique how civil and environmental are in the same department. You guys are very much friends, I would say, together working. All right, so.

Azeezah 

Yeah. Yeah, so yeah, I would hope so.

Teri 

You were talking about you have academic courses, but are there other things that you're involved in here at Cornell, whether it's an engineering, within engineering or outside of it?

Azeezah

Yeah. so I'm in an engineering project team. That's like my main engineering club I'm in. It's called Cornell Concrete Canoe. I've been in it since my freshman year and basically we build a boat out of concrete. And you might be wondering, what does that mean? And you're like, what is this? But yes, we do do this. And the boat does float most of the time. Yeah, it's super cool. It's been a great way for me to meet people. Not only are we doing bonding over like doing really cool stuff, but like it's incredibly social. And I've met some of like my best friends like through it. And I honestly think like you've heard that a lot, like joining project teams, they're really a great way to meet, to meet community and people. Cause like it can be really overwhelming like when you first joined and that's something I definitely found, especially like in the Engineering school. Cause it's like so big. So I'm honestly so glad I was able to like join a project team and just like meet so many people from like different grades, different majors as well, it has just been like really incredible. And I'm also in an a cappella group, but there's a bit of a twist to it because it's like an a cappella group for like bad singers. So we're called the... 

Teri 

Oh my gosh.

Azeezah

Yeah, so we're called the Meteorical Melodies. And yeah, we just, yeah, it's so random, actually. It's more like an a cappella comedy type of show. But yeah, it's been really, it's been really fun. I've also been in that since like my freshman year. We have concerts every semester and like all the money goes straight to charity, which is really nice. And yeah, people, from what I've heard, people really enjoy our concerts even though we're not that good singers. But yeah, it's just really nice just having, just joining things that make you able to de -stress as well. And like, it's not all about, like you can just do silly things, which I just, and I'm like that's kind of what college is about. And I'm also in a sorority as well, Kappa Delta, I joined that my - freshman spring and yeah that's been a great way for me to meet people from the different majors and just to connect in a different way that I honestly don't think I would have if I had to join these things.

Teri 

I love these communities that you're in, the a capella group. I have never heard of that. I would have been your biggest soloist if it was for people who can't actually sing. That's so fun. I love that. And to have that ability to just loosen up, just be out there, and then it goes to charity. That's going to be one of my favorite organizations from now on. I'm going to have to find a concert and come and see you.

Azeezah 

Yes. No, yeah, and it's on YouTube as well too, so you can check us out. Not sure how the sound will be, but yeah.

Teri 

Yes. I love it. That's really incredible. That's so cool. All right. So I'd love to hear more about what you want to do with civil engineering in the future. I know you've got architecture in there and you talked about bridges, but next steps after Cornell, are you looking into grad school? Are you going into industry? What is the field that you're really interested in?

Azeezah 

Yes, that is the big question right now as I'm a rising senior. Honestly, I think like my thoughts change all the time as I like take more classes, meet new people and like just like have that experience. But a big interest of mine in the civil engineering field as I guess is like more older buildings or like building renovations and stuff like that. I'm super passionate about that. So I would probably like to go into like, I guess more of the design fields like helping to like renovate those properties and things like that but honestly everything changes all the time like right now like over the summer I'm working i'm working I'm trying I'm trying to see maybe I want to go to the construction industry so i'm actually like I'm interning at Clark Construction right now which has been really good so far I think just like trying different things out and just like seeing like what fits but yeah like long -term goal will probably to go into the design field and helping to like renovate buildings but you never know, things might change.

Teri 

That's very cool. I think you have a great future in that. It's going to be really interesting to see where your journey goes.

Azeezah 

Yeah, I'm interested too to see where my journey goes. I'm also super excited as well too.

Teri 

Yeah, and senior year is such a big deal. You have a lot of great things to hold on to, but also you're figuring out and, you know, I've said this before on here as well, is that like, you all, I'm so glad that you all are in these fields that you're doing this work, because I think you all have such great forethought and like what you're doing and contributions back into the world. It's going to be great. I'm really excited to see where all of these students go, especially the ones that I interviewed. So.

Azeezah 

Yes. Yeah, I think, yeah, and just like you said, that's almost super important to me is like contributing to the world. I think like anything I do, I really want to have some impact, no matter like big, no matter small, that's something that's really been important for me like since I was a kid. So I'm just like super looking forward to just like seeing how I am able to do that, like with my degree and the skills I've been able to get from it.

Teri 

Yeah, absolutely. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience being a woman in engineering? Cornell has gender parity, and you're in this environment that I have been told is very supportive, and I've experienced it being very supportive. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on that and what you think being a woman brings to this. If you have a superpower because your perspective is different than what traditionally this field has been offered to.

Azeezah

Yeah, so like you said, like a lot of Cornell is 50 -50. And like even in my major and stuff, like I was so happy to like come to Cornell and like see that honestly it is like pretty equal. I know like some majors not always the case, but in terms of Civil Engineering, I would say it's like 50 -50. The creation which has been really like nice to see. I want to say like it's been, it's really supportive. Like some of my closest like civil friends, our fellow gals, just like myself just trying to like figure it out and like we really support each other and like even on days when maybe we don't feel like, you know, we're that capable and able to do it. It's really nice having that community to like, we believe in each other. Like I was like, which is really nice. Like I was just talking to one of my best friends yesterday and she was like, you know, like you can do this. Like we are, we are smart. We are great engineers. And it's like, yes, you're right. Like it's so true. And this is really nice having that community and like even going up the field as well with like our mentors, our teachers and stuff, like office hours to me have been a great help throughout my whole time at Cornell because it's like there is so much help out there you just have to utilize it and like seek it and that's something I'd really advise to any new students coming, any current students coming, like use the resources you have because these teachers do care about you, like they do want to help you and I think… It's just really, I've really benefited from that. So I recommend everyone all the time to just see what's out there. There's so many, there's so much support, which is just really nice. I even, I started teaching an, an AEW course as well this recent year. And it's just been nice, like even like mentorship with different year groups, like, like if I can help to teach this other sophomore, this differential equation, that's, that helps me, that helps her as well too. This is really nice.

Teri 

Yeah.

Azeezah 

to succeed in that community.

Teri 

Yeah, to be able to support others and to watch them where you knew you were there at one point, right? 

Azeezah

Yes, Yes

Teri

And you had that assistance as well. You talked about office hours. Can you tell me about faculty and your relationship with faculty? Do you have access to them? Do they actually have these office hours that you can go and talk to them? Can you tell me a little bit about that? 

Azeezah

Yes, they do. So in most classes in engineering school will have like office hours. So like the professors will like, this is sort of like just like extra time, like maybe like during lunchtime, like in the late evenings, afternoon, just like any time the professor is free, basically they'll post these times. You can come to them and ask them anything. You can just talk to them if you want. You can ask questions about the homework, ask them like electric clarifications. And like the teaching assistants who also help out on the courses will also have those times as well too. Especially in the early courses, I would say like your freshman courses that you take and stuff that have much larger groups of people. There's so much help out there. And there was so good time to meet people. I've met some of my really good friends in office hours because we're just all sort of like struggling together and trying to figure out this question. And we're like, hey, let's work together for the next summer. And it's just really nice just having that. I would say so, yeah, I'm the number one office hour fan and actually like I love them. Like the minute I get them, I'll just put them on my phone. So I just always know that help is out there when you need it. And like, just to not be afraid to like seek it out. Cause that is what it's there for, you know?

Teri

Right, and it's a sign of strength and they want you to be there. You're not bothering them. You're not... Yeah.

Azeezah 

Yes, yeah, you're not bothering them, yeah. Yeah, they do want you to do it, they do care. I know, so it's been really, it's nice because you can hear, like, you can just learn things about the professor that you never would have from just like a regular lecture. Like, you know, like they do have personalities, they're not that big and scary, you know, which is really nice.

Teri 

Yeah, that's really wonderful to hear. And you talked a little bit in the last question about having those days where you do need to have a pep talk. You have friends that maybe you can kind of go to. Maybe it still is just your friends, but I would love to hear about who your support person is or maybe a couple of support people who make you feel that way that like you do got this, that you can get through it, that you can call at night. That's when you know when you're like, I don't know what I'm doing. Who is that person for you?

Azeezah 

I would say it's like my friends, especially like in the major. One of my best friends in the major, her name is Tiffany. And like we have a lot of classes together and just like, it's just nice having someone who is having the same experience like you are as well. And like who like, yes, you see them every day and stuff. But it's like, we can help each other out with our homework. Like, you know, like we can talk about like what's going on in class, like the gossip that happened like earlier.

Teri 

Mm -hmm. Hehehehe

Azeezah 

like what that professor is doing and stuff and it's just it's just nice like having that support in the major especially because I feel like when I first joined the civil engineering major because you sort of like officially like affiliated with the major like your sophomore like well I affiliated my sophomore spring and I felt like I didn't really know anyone in my major like a lot of my friends or people who were not civil engineers or like other majors I was like like I'm this major but I can't I don't really know anyone and I'm so glad to say that that's of

Teri 

Yes.

Azeezah 

honestly changed like throughout like this like these like sophomore year and like junior year simply because I just like reached out to people I'm like hey like you know like I like I didn't see you like maybe freshman year but like you seem pretty cool like do you want to get lunch like do you want to sit next to each other in class and stuff and it's just it's been really nice honestly just like exploring my major in that way and it's like meeting like new people which I've just really enjoyed.

Teri 

Mm. That's really good to have people who are kind of in the trench with you, right? Like the struggle is real, but at least you're with them.

Azeezah 

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but also to reward as well too, you know, like when we both do well in the prelim and stuff, like, you know, we're both happy for each other when each of us is doing well, or when we get a nice comment from the professor, it's just really nice having that support.

Teri 

Yeah. You can celebrate all together too as well. That's a really good point. 

Azeezah 

Yes, yeah, yeah.

Teri

All right, we're gonna wrap it up here. My last question for you is if you could tell me your view of engineering and why girls should explore civil engineering.

Azeezah

I think girls should explore civil engineering because it's amazing. I think it gives you so much access to just like having a different view of the world than you never would have thought of. And that can be on a big scale just like by knowing how to design a building, but also like on a small scale, like just like the skills you learn, not just not in civil but in engineering as a whole, like they really do make you like a better person I think and like just having that eye for efficiency that I, for just precision and stuff, helps in anything you want to do, whether it's in engineering or out of engineering. I just think it just helps you see the world in a different way and that's something I really appreciate from having that. And I think it does help me appreciate other majors as well too, which I think is really nice and which is obviously one of the great things about Cornell as well. And like… Also that degree programme as well, we have to do like liberal studies and things which I really personally enjoyed.

Teri

Yeah, you have the well -rounded, you know, whole university education that you're getting. You know, we have like this liberal arts heart to Cornell and then surrounding it are the other colleges and one of them being obviously the College of Engineering. So we have really well -rounded students that come out with not only the ability to solve problems and to have engineering as, you know, this really deep focus, but they're very well -rounded because they still have the liberal arts and

Azeezah

Yeah.

Teri 

kind of in the background of it and understanding how that all components work together.

Azeezah 

Exactly. And that's one of the things I love about being in Cornell is being able to have the opportunity because it's a great privilege to have that.

Teri 

Yeah, that's a great way to put it, a privilege. Lovely. Thank you so much, Azeezah. I really appreciate you coming on. I think you have such a great story, your unique background, your ability to bring civil engineering and architecture together, and you had such a lovely way to talk about it all. So thank you so much for lending your voice to this. We really appreciate your time.

Azeezah Ladoja 

Thank you so much, Teri. This has been honestly a dream. Thank you.

Admissions Segment:

Teri 

Hi, everyone. Welcome back. I'm really excited today because I get to introduce you to another one of my wonderful colleagues here at Cornell Engineering Admissions. Her name is Robyn. She's lovely and wonderful, and I'm so happy that she's here. Robyn, do you want to go ahead and introduce yourself?

Robyn

Sure. My name is Robyn Koren. I'm an assistant director of admission here in Cornell Engineering. Just like my colleague Teri, I'm very involved with first year selection. I do information sessions and I respond to questions from prospective students. A few other big responsibilities of mine include outreach to prospective international students and coordinating the review of international applications. I also work very closely with our prospective transfer applicants, and I'm responsible for the Transfer Selection Committee, which keeps me quite busy through the spring. I’ve been working in admissions for over two decades. I've been here at Cornell for over eight years, including five years here in Cornell Engineering. Prior to coming to Cornell, I worked at a college in New England.

Teri 

Awesome. Yeah, you have a really great background in admissions, but one of the specific reasons why I wanted you to come on for this episode is because you have a unique background for engineering admissions. I've been asked before, am I an engineer? Did I go to Cornell? And I don't have that background. I worked in higher ed for a while. I have my degree in higher ed, but that's not the case with you, Robyn. Can you tell us a little bit about your unique background here?

Robyn 

Of course, I didn't attend Cornell Engineering either, but I do have a bachelor's and a master's degree in civil and environmental engineering. I really enjoy reviewing applications for engineering majors as I can relate to the applicants and totally imagine them in engineering classes. They sometimes remind me of myself or my former engineering classmates. I understand the engineering related projects and activities and research that they share with us in their applications and I can feel their excitement as they write about their experiences and their goals.

Teri 

Awesome, yeah, we're really lucky to have you because you do have this unique background in engineering and you can relate back to them and you can understand a lot of the things that they are going through, but also the in -depth projects that they show us and things like that. I think it's really awesome that you have that background. And one of our students that I interviewed in the previous segment, Azeezah, talked about being on the concrete canoe team.

And that's something you actually have in common with her, that you actually were on your school's concrete canoe team. Can you tell me a little bit about that experience and how maybe it helped with teamwork and collaboration and understanding your engineering principles?

Robyn 

Absolutely,I loved being on my school’s concrete canoe team. It was just the best experience. First, I do want to address that it's really difficult to imagine a canoe made of concrete actually floating, 

Teri 

Yes.

Robyn

but we built one and it worked. My senior year of college, I led the team. I was responsible for bringing all of the pieces together for the project. I had to think about things raising money, designing the canoe shape, pulling together the materials. We had to think about the actual concrete mixture. We built the canoe and actually got to have fun getting dirty. We wrote up the report and created a presentation, and then we actually raced the canoe at a competition. This was a team of around 15 to 20 students. Not only was it a lot of fun, but it was quite the learning experience. I came out of it with an experience working on a team and with leadership skills. I made some great friends and it was almost like a little preview of how engineers work together on a larger scale project.

Teri 

That's so cool to hear. I love that. Taking those real engineering principles, putting it into a project, but then also all these soft skills that you're able to practice with this whole team. So like you said, you do have a background in admissions and engineering. Your background in admissions goes back, you said 20 years, but all of that experience also brings you into some special applications that you look at in this office. You coordinate our international applications as a part of your position here. Can you tell me a little bit about that and about the applications that we get from all over the world?

Robyn 

Sure. So our international applicants actually follow much of the same application process as our domestic applicants do, but the international applicants should be aware of our English language proficiency or ELP requirements. When we review the applications, we can see differences in experiences that the international applicants have, and these different backgrounds make unique experiences that our international students bring with them to Cornell. As well as learning from faculty, all of the students learn from their classmates, and that enriches the college experience beyond the actual academics.

Teri 

Yeah, the community of people that we have here is a whole nother layer of education, right? Because you're learning from people that have such diverse backgrounds. So that's a great and a unique aspect of your job is that you coordinate and oversee that, which we're really grateful for. Yeah, so thank you so much for being here and letting our audience get to know you a little bit. I love introducing everyone in our office to our students that are listening. Is there anything else that you would like to share?

Robyn 

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me on the podcast today. There is actually one more thing I would like to add. Since you asked me about my experience as an engineering student, I do want to mention that when I first entered college, I was undeclared since I knew I was interested in STEM, but I really wasn't sure which direction to go with it. I went to speak with professors from each of the engineering majors to learn more about them, and I ultimately selected civil engineering which was definitely the right path for me. Here at Cornell Engineering, that exploration of engineering is built directly into the program. Although the students may apply for a specific major, when they actually arrive at Cornell Engineering, they'll start by taking certain core classes and learning about the engineering majors. Then they affiliate with a specific major during their second year. This period of exploration gives our students time and experience to figure out what they want to do.

Teri 

Yeah, exactly. I think our program is really unique in that it allows that time for exploration. And it sounded like it suited you really well. It made you find what you were looking for. And the same for our students. Thank you for sharing that story. That's really awesome. And again, thank you for being here, Robyn.

Robyn 

Thank you.

Teri

All right, we have come to another conclusion of VIEW, Voices of Incredible Engineering Women. I want to thank our guest Azeezah for her insight into civil engineering. Thank you, Robyn, again, for joining me from the admissions office. And finally, thank all of you for joining us. I hope you learned something today, and maybe it was that you're an engineer.

Closing Credits:

Teri

VIEW, Voices of Incredible Engineering Women Is a podcast produced and written by the Cornell Engineering Admissions Office. Please remember to like, follow, subscribe and share our podcast and help us bring engineering to the ears of young women everywhere. To find out more information about Cornell engineering please visit our website visit.engineering.cornell.edu.