Around Town: Alumni Impact
Around Town: Alumni Impact: a podcast highlighting the people and stories that shape our engineering community in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering or CCEE at Iowa State University.
Around Town: Alumni Impact
Around Town Alumni Impact with Nicole Moore and Jacob Verry
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
On this episode of Around Town: Alumni Impact, we’re joined by Iowa State Civil Engineering alumni Nicole Moore (ISU Civil Engineering 2003) and Jacob Verry (ISU Civil Engineering 2018).
Nicole, Director of the Local Systems Bureau at the Iowa Department of Transportation, and Jacob, a Project Engineer at HR Green, share their experiences from public service and consulting, discuss careers in transportation and infrastructure, and reflect on how they’re helping shape stronger communities—and the next generation of Cyclone engineers.
Welcome to Aroundtown Alumni Impact, a podcast highlighting alumni who are making a difference within Iowa State's Department of Civil Construction and Environmental Engineering. In each episode, we sit down with Cyclone alumni to talk about their journey from their time as students to their careers and ways they continue to give back and make a difference. These conversations celebrate the impact of engineering, the power of connection, and the lasting role alumni play in supporting future generations. I'm your host, Linda Dainty, Alumni Outreach Specialist for CCEE. Today on Aroundtown Alumni Impact, we're excited to welcome two Iowa State University civil engineering alumni who represent both early career and senior leadership perspectives in the profession, Nicole Moore and Jacob Ferry. Nicole Moore is a civil engineering graduate from the class of 2003, a licensed professional engineer or PE, and the director of the Local Systems Bureau at the Iowa Department of Transportation. In her role, she leads statewide efforts supporting local transportation programs and infrastructure, working closely with communities across Iowa to deliver impactful projects that improve mobility, safety, and connectivity. Jacob Ferry is a civil engineering graduate from the class of 2018 and currently works as a project engineer at HR Green, where he supports transportation projects that help strengthen infrastructure and improve communities across Iowa and beyond. He is also actively engaged with Iowa State through CCE Gold, graduates of the last decade, and like Nicole, part of the Civil Engineering External Advisory Council, where he helps support and guide the next generation of Cyclone engineers. Together, Nicole and Jacob bring a valuable range of experience spanning consulting and public service, early career and executive leadership, and shared commitment to strengthening Iowa's infrastructure and the next generation of civil engineers. We're excited to have them both join us today for this conversation. Hi guys. Hi. Welcome. I'm glad you're both here. So this is a little change from the previous podcast. We have both of you here. So let's just start off with question one. I'll start with you, Nicole. Okay. What first drew you to civil engineering at Iowa State?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, great question, Linda. I always had an interest in roads and bridges. Always kind of knew like where I was going. Like people called me like a walking map. Um so just kind of always had that mindset. And then um, as I traveled to larger cities, I really got an interest in interchanges. And both my mom and my dad went to Iowa State. So it was really no question ever where I was going. Um, I knew Iowa State had a good engineering program. And so that was what I um decided when I was a sophomore in high school that I wanted to do. Then I applied to Iowa State, and that was it. I didn't apply anywhere else. I didn't go visit anywhere else. I just knew that's what I wanted to do. Cool. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's pretty great.
SPEAKER_00Well, Jacob, what drew you to civil engineering?
SPEAKER_04So my path is a little less direct. I grew up in Coraville, which is essentially Iowa City. So where I was gonna end up was still a question mark. The reason I went to or decided to do civil engineering was in high school. We had some unpaid internship opportunities that were pretty great. The first one that I did was actually in computer science engineering. I found out that that wasn't really anything I wanted to end up in. The people were a bit reserved and and weren't as social as what I wanted. Following summer, in my junior year, I ended up doing a civil engineering internship, which had a good balance of both in-office and field work. So I really appreciated that uh, you know, variety and and change day to day, and as well as the people were quite a bit more engaging and and social. So I found that I was more of a fit for civil engineering. So once I decided that the civil engineering route was the route I wanted to go, I knew I wanted to end up somewhere in state. So I toured both Iowa and Iowa State, and Iowa State blew away Iowa when it came to the the department and what they had to offer. So I went and decided to go to Iowa State. The campus is beautiful and you know never looked back after that.
SPEAKER_00So Okay, Jacob, can you share a favorite Iowa State memory that still makes you smile today?
SPEAKER_04So the word smile really triggered some of the memories that I had here at Iowa State because there were so many. But the two things that maybe aren't super civil engineering related, but really do put a smile on my face was the first spring day after all of that, you know, snowy coldness and winter that we had. You just come out and people are playing in the courtyard throwing frisbees and hammocking and reading. And Iowa State, you know, again, the campus is just on unbeatable. And so it was just that would always put a smile on my face. And then something that everybody on campus can relate to, walking out of your last final. That was just a freeing feeling that, you know, I it could not be beaten, it always put a smile on my face. So those are two memories that instantly popped into my head.
SPEAKER_00That's great. What about you, Nicole?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I like uh hearing Jacob about the last final. That reminds me of learning that I was able to move on after certain classes at Iowa State, like Physics 221. I don't know, learning that after the final, you know, that I did in fact pass physics. And so that was a great feeling. And you mentioned Steel Bridge, and I was part of the concrete canoe team. And uh that has some really great memories. Um, we got to travel a little bit. We went to Iowa City and we had a competition there, and we won that competition in our regional. And then we got to go to, I think it was the ASCE 150th anniversary, if I remember right. And that was in Madison, Wisconsin, which is also another beautiful campus, like Iowa State. So we got to compete up there, and that was really fun. Um, just all those memories with the folks in the concrete canoe team. Um, those really yeah, really strike me. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So those competition clubs are just great. Yeah. They really bring the community out of the civil engineering department. So it's awesome.
SPEAKER_01You get to be with people in that competition group that are not necessarily in your classes every day. So it gets you out to meet new people. And yeah.
SPEAKER_04Definitely.
SPEAKER_01Yep. I think those are really fun and great opportunities.
SPEAKER_04For sure. I always push people to do them if they're looking for something to do on campus. You know, those competition clubs, like you said, there's people outside of your, you know, classes that you're gonna meet and it just really helps expand your network within our our community.
SPEAKER_01Um another thing I would mention is just all of the memories of collaborating and studying with people that were in your classes, and you could talk through some of those more challenging homework assignments or work through some practice test problems, you know, and really you got to know a lot of those people in your classes with you. And and I still run into some of them, you know, today.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yep. We're a small community.
SPEAKER_00Yep, definitely. Okay, Nicole. Looking back, was there a professor, project, organization, or experience at CCE that had a lasting impact on you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I would say definitely being involved in ASCE in the student group. We had meetings about once a month and we would have a different keynote speaker come in. And I think those are still happening today. The Concrete Canoe team, also a great experience. We also shared an office with our ASCE group, shared an office with the AGC student group. And so that was really fun getting to know some of the construction engineering folks as well. So all those different organizations um really stand out to me. A professor, I never had him as a professor for a class, but Jim Cable was a great one. Taking tests in the evening as a group that just kind of brought people together. Uh, you know, when you'd get there a little bit early and could talk to fellow students before the professor would come in and give you a test, you know. And those were some of the the fun memories and things that made a lasting impact.
SPEAKER_04Those definitely uh when I would leave those exams, we would all kind of walk together and talk about how we felt like we did.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_04Maybe head to the sea store, grab some ice cream.
unknownYou know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And then wait for the painful results.
SPEAKER_00So definitely. How about you, Jacob?
SPEAKER_04I feel like the biggest impact for classroom that I had was uh capstone, actually. So it might be cliche to say, but that one really tied it all together for me at Iowa State. Uh Matt Rouse was actually the professor that did my discipline. So I was a structural for that. And team that I was a part of was great. And really it helped me learn how to problem solve and not get too stuck up with needing to know all the answers before I get going. So you don't want to have that, you know, paralysis by analysis. You have to get moving because there's that impending deadline. And that's really what translated the most into the real world for me. So Matt was great about not giving me just answers, but giving me resources to find the answers and not, you know, yeah, so the problem-solving skills I needed in order to make that transition from school into industry. So I would say that Matt had a huge impact on yeah, where I am today from that standpoint. I also had a really early-on professor that made an early impact. His name was Benjamin Kwasa. He was part of the uh aerospace engineering group, but he taught my statics class. And statics is kind of the foundation of everything beyond it. And so I had heard some horror stories about statics early on, and some people were complaining about either the professor or the material, but I had no complaints on either side because Ben Benjamin Kwasa was just he understood students and understood how to teach. And so he made it so that we could go step by step and understand how to apply it, but make sure that we were learning it because he knew how important it was for us in the future. So those two guys really made a huge impact on my time at Iowa State. And so did so many others, but honestly, we'd be here all podcasts or so if I were going down the list.
SPEAKER_01Yep, that's awesome. That's great. Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned the capstone class. Uh I definitely feel like that was a great class. And I also liked highway design quite a bit. I had Reg Sularette for that, and he was a great professor as well. And once in a while I run into him at some national conference. So yeah, it's just kind of fun, you know, running into people down the road. And yeah.
SPEAKER_04Definitely. Like we said, it's small. You just keep running into people forever, and that network is always nice to have because it gives us a familiar face.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yep, for sure. Jacob, if you could go back and give your college self one piece of advice, what would it be?
SPEAKER_04So, Linda, you probably already know this about me, but I love to travel. So what I would have told myself is to not only kind of back your way into studying abroad, but plan to study abroad for a semester. I did end up studying abroad. Uh the CCE department had a great program where you could go the week after finals week, you go take off, and we were in the UK. So we started in Edinburgh, went to London, and then I tacked on Paris at the end. But we got an it was called International Perspectives and Transportation. And so it was great because we got to see a bunch of different styles of transportation. London's just a mess when it comes to, you know, traffic control, which is really cool to see in comparison to the US, which is relatively new infrastructure compared to that.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04Compared to Europe in general. So it was a really cool class, but it was only a two-week stint and I loved it. And so I really would push myself to try to find a way to fit a semester-long study abroad in. I think it's really important for people to experience different things like that in their life. It really did give me a different perspective on how engineering's come so far. You know, we're so used to what we see in front of us today, but getting to go to Europe and seeing an older style of infrastructure and the different challenges that they face that we don't really made me appreciate what we have here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's really interesting. That's great advice. Thanks. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04No, I I really uh that's that would be the advice that I would have given myself if I could turn back the clocks.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. I think they need to bring that course back and I'd be happy to be a chaperone.
SPEAKER_04I know they probably wouldn't need one, but you know, you might we we did have, you know, I think around eight chaperones.
SPEAKER_00So that's some opportunities for you, Linda.
SPEAKER_01No, that sounds like a really cool course though. It was great.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01How about you, Nicole? Well, we've kind of already been talking about it a little bit, but um, you know, both Jacob and I are pretty social as far as, especially as far as engineers go. And, you know, remember your classmates, work with them while you're in school because a lot of times you're gonna run into them in the future, you know, with me working at the state DOT, go to a lot of different conferences and we see folks from different consulting firms, other city or county agencies. And usually I'm pointing out, like, oh, uh, we went to college with that person, you know. And so I'm seeing a lot of people on a regular basis. And I think people think that I was in college for like 10 years. And trust me, I wasn't. I was a normal student, but I just keep running into people and I think it's great to see people that you went to college with. And so I think knowing that you're going to continue to run into people is a good thing to start building relationships while you're in college and you know, keep in touch with those people because you will see them down the road.
SPEAKER_04I would definitely echo that. That's great advice. I I think keeping in touch and not just, you know, getting that initial interaction, but understanding the longevity of these relationships that you're gonna have is something that I didn't have early on either. And should have kind of, yeah. Another thing I could tell myself if I were you know I had a time machine, right?
SPEAKER_00Nicole, what does your work look like today and what do you enjoy most about it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So um you mentioned earlier, Linda, that I'm the local systems bureau director at the Iowa DOT. We collaborate with a lot of different cities and counties throughout the state. Uh they do a lot of federal aid projects, use a lot of other funding sources with our department. We're always working with them, uh, providing training, providing guidance, working with other bureaus at the DOT. Really, the main message is collaboration and relationships. And that I would say that is what I enjoy the most about it is forming those relationships, enhancing those relationships, working with other people to get their perspective. And a lot of people, you have your own perspective, of course, but you don't necessarily have the perspective of other people. And so learning, you know, the history of something, why something is the way that it is, how what we can do can work with that particular city or that county. It just makes projects go a lot smoother when we're working together. You know, we're all after the same goal of having great infrastructure in our state and beyond. And so if we can all work together, then that just gets makes the job that much easier. That would be good advice all around.
SPEAKER_00How about you, Jake?
SPEAKER_04Well, it's funny that you you pick two of the most social engineers. So you're gonna get a lot of a couple pretty similar answers and responses here. Anyway, my most of my work days probably differ a little bit from Nicole's. I'm more in front of a computer screen and drafting quite a bit and open roads designer, but I do have opportunities to get outside and see the the field at times, but also be social and and get to build those relationships through conferences and and these interactions right here. So um the thing that I am most proud of, or not proud of, but the thing that I do enjoy about my job the most is getting to work with the people that I'm around. I really do enjoy working with my coworkers. I really enjoy teaching the younger staff and kind of help mentoring them through, you know, the the their tasks and problems that usually are things that I've ran into myself. So it's nice to be able to see, you know, they're following essentially in the same footsteps, and it's it's something that's fun to be able to teach them and give them, you know, advice. And then what's been really nice is we've had the next generation coming in and I've watching them do the next the same thing for the people after them. And so it just feels like, you know, you're doing your part in in the community of civil engineering and the industry and and passing along the knowledge that that we you know obtain over time. So it really that makes me feel proud when I see that you know, not just me teaching somebody, but that next step is really what recently has been made me feeling proud of where I am right now.
SPEAKER_00Okay, Jacob, what's one career moment or accomplishment you're especially proud of?
SPEAKER_04So my project that I'm most proud of, and this is kind of funny because it happened when I was an intern, was getting to work on uh US Bank Stadium in Minnesota, which is the state which is the stadium for the Vikings. And it's one of those things where that was kind of one of my career goals setting out to becoming a civil engineer, was getting to work on a stadium that I've always kind of been a fan of, like a team that I've been a fan of. And while I hadn't been a big fan of the Vikings at the time, after living in Minnesota for a while, I kind of picked up the sports culture. You know, in Iowa, you don't really understand it. But if you live in a different area that has sports around, you know, you kind of get consumed by it, especially as a sports fan myself. And so that was kind of a just a really proud moment being able to say that I helped work on US Bank Stadium. Uh it was kind of funny that happened at an internship level. So therefore, it's like, now what do I shoot for? But um a lot of what I go after now is just trying to make sure that I'm doing my part in the civil engineering community to make it a great place for everybody to work. And especially HR Green specifically is for when people come on to work for HR Green, they feel, you know, welcome and comfortable. And, you know, there's somebody there that they can always turn to if they need any career advice or life advice or anything like that.
SPEAKER_01That's really cool. I didn't know that you'd worked on the US Bank Stadium.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Got a really, really lucky internship opportunity, right time, like right time, right place scenario.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. Yeah. How about you, Nicole? What's one career moment or accomplishment you're especially proud of?
SPEAKER_01So back in 2018, there was a federal grant opportunity we applied for. It was called the Competitive Highway Bridge Program. It was a very quick process. We had never applied for a grant like this before. So you may have heard some statistics that Iowa does not have the best bridges in the country. And so we knew this was a great opportunity for our state. So we worked with Federal Highway Administration, the contractors in Iowa. We worked with some consulting firms, we worked with Iowa State to get some data. We worked with the cities and the counties and the state DOT, and we applied for this grant. Ultimately, we replaced 77 bridges. We were awarded the grant.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_01Um, it was for over $33 million. It was a very fast process just to apply for the grant. It was about 10 weeks that we had from learning about it, getting together with all these people, choosing the bridges, writing the grant application, um, and then actually submitting the grant. And so very collaborative process. And we probably couldn't have done it if we hadn't had like previous relationships with people. Like everybody kind of knew like what each other's goals were, knew each other as people. So it really worked out well for us to just sit down in a room. And we sat down at least every other week, if not every week, as a group and kind of went over this is what we've done, this is what we need to work on next. And just kind of those meetings where you check in and this is where we're at. It was it was a really great experience, something we would not have been able to do if that grant opportunity hadn't been there.
SPEAKER_04That's amazing. That's such a great impact for the state. So that's that's something we're definitely to be proud of.
SPEAKER_00Nicole, what a le what's a lesson you learned early in your career that still guides you today?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I worked with a lot of county engineers early in my career, um, as early as uh internships. Jacob, you mentioned internships, uh, and I think those are so important. And then through that, I met other county engineers. I was able to get a scholarship from the county engineers association. Learning who all those people were was something that really guides me today. Learning lessons from contractors. So uh when you're out there on site, you know, building your project and a contractor says, you know, that uh your design was maybe a little more precise than it needed to be. Okay, yep, I can take that advice. That makes sense in this situation, you know. Like I had designed a culvert to the hundredth of an inch, and that was deemed to not be necessary by the contractor. So uh that was one little lesson that I learned from a contractor, and another one was I hadn't really left enough room for the dirt that they had to dig out of the culvert area. Um, and so they had worked out a separate deal with a landowner uh to store that dirt on their property. But it would have been easier if I had just provided that from the start. So some of those uh pieces of advice that people give you early on are really something to take to heart, you know, and remember, remember those things.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, those are those are good things though. Learning from contractors is huge because there's times where our engineers may have an ego, some may say. So it's hard to hear from contractors, but they really do. They're the ones building it. The ones that really know what it takes to to to build. We can you know design it however we want and on the computer, but a computer is a perfect world. And so we all know it's not out there. So that's where uh it's good to hear that advice and get it early and often. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So and those contractors, you know, their their name is on that product as well. So, you know, people know who built that. They want to do a good job too. So definitely, you know, as long as you can work together, that's really right, really a good first step in in making your project successful. How about you, Jacob?
SPEAKER_00What's uh less You learned early in your career, they still guide you today.
SPEAKER_04So this is going to be a funny one. It's a little less uh uh normal, or I guess a little less good answer as Nicole. But uh mine is just take a notebook with you whenever you're going to ask questions when you're young. Like whenever you're gonna go into somebody's office, take a notebook with you. You may think you're going in for one question, but there's probably gonna be a lot more information than you're ready for. And if you don't remember that, then you're gonna have to ask again. And you don't want to ask again. So instead of having to remember every last detail in your brain, you can jot down the five or ten things that you end up talking about when you only go in for one.
SPEAKER_00So very practical advice. That's excellent. Yeah, sounds like an engineer's advice.
SPEAKER_04I was gonna say, yeah, that went a different route than Nicole's, but but I I felt like that needed to be said nonetheless.
SPEAKER_00So I agree. I think these are great because you're both kind of the recurring theme I'm hearing is it's really important to communicate and which isn't always a skill an engineer is comfortable with. Yes. Jacob, you've stayed actively involved with Iowa State through alumni groups and CE External Advisory Council. Why has giving back remained important to you?
SPEAKER_04Giving back's important to me because Iowa State has made such an impact on my life. Uh, I would not be where I am without Iowa State. I have ended up in a great job. I've ended up meeting a ton of great people, and I live a pretty comfortable life, and it's a large part to due to Iowa State. Iowa State has a ton of uh great faculty, staff, and just a bunch of great students. And so it's easy for me to want to be here in Ames and come back and just help in whatever way possible. Gold has been great. I feel like alumni want to find a way to stay involved and stay in touch with Iowa State. And I feel like gold's an opportunity for us to create events that we personally want to partake in, but also our other people, alumni, would want to partake in as well. So that's been great. And then being able to join the advisory council here recently has been amazing for me as well. I'm able to kind of see the inside of how decisions are made for at the university level. And I really do feel like it's been a great benefit, not only to me, but I can tell the students are enjoying sessions that we have and the opportunities to give us feedback so that we can put that back into the program. So it's been a great opportunity. So it's something that I feel like is a privilege that I have to be able to come back and help, not something that I feel like I have to do. So it's been amazing.
SPEAKER_00Okay, Nicole, how about you? You've stayed active with the advisory council. Why is giving back remained important to you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it's important to just see the CCEE traditions continue and form new traditions, like uh Jacob is very involved in CCEE gold. Uh, that wasn't something that was available um when I graduated, um, but I think it's fantastic that it's available now and just seeing how those things live on, but also new ways to give back have been created. And I think that's all really important. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Nicole, in your view, what role do alumni play in helping students succeed beyond the classroom? That kind of is a, you know, expanding that last question, but this is more, you know, specifically about students.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think the ways that we can help students succeed beyond the classroom really include internships. You know, if your company or your agency can offer internships, I think that's so beneficial for the students to be able to have internships so that students can get that real life experience that I think they all crave. And it's great for them to know is this what I want to do right when I graduate? Or is this something I know I don't want to do when I graduate? Like those are great things to find out before you're immersed in full-time work.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Getting that exposure and then being able to understand how your classes actually apply in the real world, like those internships. And then also when my first internship I had, that was my first, you know, nine to five, if you want to call it that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And it was uh an adjustment. You know, you're used to like your student schedule where you have maybe two or three classes in a row and then a block of of free time and then uh maybe another class or two in the afternoon. But when you get to work, it's a straight, you know, eight-hour day. Yeah. Maybe you get a break for lunch, but it and that's just an adjustment in itself, you know. That's a really good point. Are great for multiple reasons. So you're you're spot on.
SPEAKER_00I completely agree. Yeah. So do you have what do you have?
SPEAKER_04I was also thinking down the the path of internships, but um something that I might be able to add on top of that uh was understanding the different career paths. And so kind of Nicole did kind of uh brief on that. Um where when you do your internships, you will understand better if you actually want to do that career or not. But civil engineering is so broad, I think it's kind of hard to really put us in a box. And so when these students sign up to be civil engineers, I don't think they always have a clear picture of the exact path that they want to go, which is understandable. I didn't either. But I think it's maybe our job as people in industry to help them understand the different, you know, opportunities that they could have, whether it's through a ASCE speaker meeting or if it's through internships or different other ways to be exposed to that. You know, I didn't know what a consultant was coming into to college, but that's what I am today. So, you know, there's just different things about our industry that aren't really easy to just Google search and find. You know, you have to kind of learn it from word of mouth or from the experiences.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I completely agree.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's something other degree programs don't have. So you just you're sort of released out into the wild in other areas without really knowing what to do. All right, Jacob, looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of engineering and the next generation of engineers?
SPEAKER_04Aaron Powell I'm really excited about the next uh generation of engineers. They honestly, when they came out of school, they impressed me right off the bat. And so what's nice is that I feel like the learning curves have been faster for a lot of the young staff who are at HR Green. And so I feel like they're gonna be able to be better than I was at my age. And so that's what's exciting to me. And then I feel like if we keep moving in that direction as an industry, then we're gonna be able to, you know, not just be as good as we are, but we're gonna, you know, be able to improve and be better. And people are getting more creative, and we keep seeing new technology being, you know, used in the field, invented, all these things, and it's just you know, the sky's the limit. And so it's kind of cool to see just up we have to use old plan sets, and they are maybe 10 pages long, and you know, that there's only so much detail to them, and there's only so much standard, you know, things inside that plan set. And nowadays, you know, we have hundreds of pages of plans because there's just so much more thought and and different things that they have to put into it, and it's it's just so cool to see the the growth and even just 50 years through plan sets. And so I only can imagine what it's gonna be in the next 50, and especially with these kids coming out so talented with all the you know different computer skills that they have and all these different resources that they're able to pull from to be able to do what they can. And it's it's pretty impressive, honestly. And so that's what excites me about uh where we're headed as as an industry and and with the engineers that are coming out of school.
SPEAKER_01Well, you mentioned uh the complication of plans today, and you know, there's so much more infrastructure out there today than there was maybe 50 years ago. I mean, if you think about utilities that are underneath an urban roadway, you know, there's maybe they weren't there 50 years ago when that roadway was originally designed, and they are there today. People have, you know, open up the road in various locations and put those utilities under there or they've bored things underneath the road. And so yeah, it does get a lot more complicated. And that's a really good point that you make.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's exactly how I was thinking about it. It's it's a lot easier when you have a a blank farm field or wherever you want to put it as and you're developing that versus you're doing a reconstruction of something existing out there. You know, there's a lot of different, you know, aspects and and obstacles that you have to work around in order to make sure that you know you're able to do the plans without affecting the existing functioning, you know, use of that. Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. We all know when uh, you know, a fiber line gets hit these days.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_01You can't go into a restaurant and buy dinner with your credit card um because you know, nobody they don't have internet, they can't use your credit card. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04You want to avoid those rainbow-colored roots, as as they say.
SPEAKER_01Yes, for sure.
SPEAKER_00So what excites you, Nicole?
SPEAKER_01Well, I think looking at what our predecessors have done, um, you know, kind of to your point, Jacob, of the different set of plans and, you know, recognizing um how far we've come and then seeing where we can go in the future. I think all of that is great. And you also mentioned technology, and I think, you know, the technology is just rapidly gaining. Uh, you know, we talk about AI all the time and what can it do for us and what can't it do and what do we need to know on our own and all those kinds of things. And I just think that that's that technology piece is gonna be huge as we move forward. Even things that, you know, aren't were new like six years ago. Microsoft Teams, I remember when that replaced Skype. I think just having that ability, it's so common now to call somebody in Teams and then you can look at something together. It doesn't matter where you are physically sitting, you can very easily pull up something on your computer and look at it. Whereas before you could call somebody on a telephone and you might have to describe something that you're looking at. You know, maybe you could both be looking at the same document that you had emailed to each other. But I think that that ability to talk with people, collaborate, see things, I think everything is moving so quickly, and that gives us the ability to do that. Um, I think those are all really good things to see in the future.
SPEAKER_04Definitely. Yeah, the the screen sharing has been a huge game changer for us too. So one of the biggest ones I happened before me, I always question how did we get anything done without Google Earth Pro or Maps where you can actually drop your person onto the road and and look around. You know, I know they had site visits, but I'm like, I'm sure they were missing out on pictures, you know, or something. So it's just hard to imagine how you were able to actually, you know, go check something quick on site, you know, through Google Earth.
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you for joining us for this episode of Around Town Alumni Impact. We're grateful to Jacob Very and Nicole Moore for sharing their time, insights, and experiences with us today.
unknownAll right.
SPEAKER_04Thank you, Linda. I really appreciate you having us. Honestly, it's been a pleasure to be able to talk with Nicole, get her perspective, and Linda, you as well. Honestly, it's just been something that I've gotten to hear, some things that I really didn't think about before, and now I'm gonna have some, you know, additional perspective on on things. So it's been a great time. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, this has been really fun. I also appreciate it, and it's good but it's been good to talk with both of you today.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I learned new things on all these episodes. It's always inspiring to hear how our Cyclone alumni are shaping the field of civil engineering from early career growth to leadership in statewide infrastructure, and how they continue to stay connected and give back to Iowa State and the CCEE community. Thank you for listening, and we hope you'll join us next time as we continue highlighting the people and stories that make our engineering community so impactful. Thanks for listening to Aroundtown Alumni Impact. I hope today's conversation showcased the many ways CCEE alumni give back, stay connected, and help shape the future of our department. Join us next time as we continue highlighting the alumni impact happening all around CCEE.