Construction Engineering and Management MSE

Upon graduation, I worked for a consultant for three years, working nearly 24/7. I became burned out and decided to go to grad school. With one class to go, I interviewed with MDOT and was hired in their Engineer Development Program in 1990. This program was designed to provide one year of cross-department training to new employees. I served in various capacities within MDOT from Utilities and Permits Engineer, Region Traffic & Safety/Operations Engineer, Region Operations/Tecumseh Delivery Engineer, Oakland TSC Manager, Metro Deputy Region Engineer, University Region Engineer, and Metro Region Engineer before being appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on January 1, 2019, to serve as the Director of MDOT. Some notable projects that have aided in my rise with the department include: the US-23 Flex Route (first in Michigan), which received both state and national awards/recognition; the US-23/I-96 Interchange Reconstruction, I-94 Rehabilitation Project in Ann; MDOT Project Manager for the Mcity Project – University of Michigan Autonomous Vehicle Research/Development Site.

Advice to Students

Explore your options until you find your niche – something which you are passionate about. Coming to work should not be a chore – it should be a pleasure.

I thought I wanted to be an architect because I liked drawing and math. I interned several summers at a local architecture firm during high school and into undergrad. I even worked at that same firm for a year and a half between undergrad and grad school. It was during this time that I figured out what I really liked about architecture was being out on the job site where the building was being built, talking with the contractor, and coordination. I liked understanding and coordinating how the building was built more than the design of the building itself. Therefore, I searched for Masters programs that could offer me both Architecture and Construction Management so that I could either be a much better architect or learn how to be a great Construction Manager who knows how to work with architects. Currently, I’m pursuing the second option, working at Turner, a construction management firm. I landed the job thanks in part to the Engineering Career Fair at University of Michigan. When I worked as an architect, the projects I was working on all came down to communication. So now I’m hyper-aware of being diligent about good and valuable communication. At my current project at Turner, I’m learning how to process all the documents associated with running a project. It’s early still, I only just started in March, but I think my current tasks will help me understand the overall process of coordination to a fuller extent. We’ll see where this path leads.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

The easy answer to this question is that I pursued a master’s degree at all. Most of the other new-hires at my job came in with bachelor’s degrees. So that’s one differentiation. But the other differentiation is that I have a second Master’s degree in architecture that also helps me stand out in the construction management world, where the majority of employees have engineering or construction management – specific degrees.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

I liked the relatively small class sizes I had in the Masters of Construction Engineering and Management classes. I also appreciated how helpful the professors were in their office hours if I was struggling in their classes (which happened more often than not since I had a bit more of a learning curve coming in with an architecture background). My favorite classes were actually some of the ones I had to make-up since I wasn’t coming in with a Civil Engineering degree. One class was Geotechnical Engineering and the other was a class on Materials which focused mainly on concrete properties. On the Construction Management side of my classes though, I enjoyed how hard the professors worked to incorporate professional practice into their classes, inviting business professionals to come speak or work on real problems out in the current industry. My advice is to not be intimidated to go see your professor for help, and specifically make time for it even if you think you can figure it out on your own or with your classmates. The professors are there to help you learn, so you should utilize that to the fullest extent. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to Alumni if you’re interested in what they do. Reach out and ask questions, I know I’d be excited to help someone out on their career path if I can.

I joined Skanska as a scheduling intern after graduating from my Masters. Even though it was a risk starting as an intern after graduation, the reward was spectacular. My studies in CEE500 level courses helped me hit the ground running in this niche job which lead to my internship becoming a full time opportunity within 5 weeks. Ever since, I have been managing the schedule of a massive multi-phase hospital expansion project in Fort Myers, Florida. I also work closely in assisting with other smaller bids coming out of Tampa office (Skanska Florida HQ) and smaller projects operated by Fort Myers Office.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

The Construction Industry is primitive when it comes to adopting technology. My master’s education helped me in harnessing this into my work. My thesis was performed on a revolutionary new scheduling software developed by a PM consultancy based out of Ann Arbor. In my 3 years with Skanska, I have implemented this software and my superiors have started using it / asking for it in many scheduling applications.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

Aside from enjoying most of my required courses, I had the opportunity to take a real estate development course as a management elective in the Ross School. If you are considering Master’s in Construction – this is a must have elective – I might even call it a required course. I was a part of Tau Beta Pi which helped me meet some great like-minded Wolverines. By serving the community, we grew ourselves professionally and personally. I was an active member of ASCE as an undergrad and also attended most of the workshops and networking events hosted by ASCE at Michigan. This is probably the most efficient way to develop a strong network in the construction industry. For a master’s in construction, the best thing to do is intern at a construction site every summer after your sophomore year. Experience is the gold standard in construction. However, the industry is changing and the requirement for tech savvy (college educated at the least) construction managers is growing rapidly. Having a master’s degree will not only set you apart from candidates your age, it will also help you in a rapid growth at a time when the guard is changing.

While pursuing the MSE in Construction Engineering and Management at the University of Michigan, I was involved in projects that work with our industry partners and the School of Nursing to solve their problems. I realized that my knowledge in construction engineering can be integrated with the cutting-edge technologies in various fields to benefit our lives, which led to my decision that I would like to work on research projects and pursue my doctoral degree here. I had the opportunity to visit several construction sites in San Francisco and Chicago with my department and I learned that the health of construction workers is the main concern of the construction industry. Now I am working on construction robotics to reduce construction workers’ workload. I hope the improvement of automation in construction can help protect the workers from musculoskeletal issues.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

I think seminars, symposiums, and professional practice courses are great opportunities for you to get the most up-to-date information. You can know the current status and major concerns of industry, and also what the researchers are doing. Take the advantage that the University of Michigan has as one of the best and biggest Engineering schools in the country, where you can learn the state-of-the-art technologies from many different fields and see how these could help you develop your own expertise.