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Name: Ian Lummis
Hometown: Grand Junction, Colorado
Program: Civil Engineering

“My favorite thing about civil engineering is the fact that no two projects are the same, with each one carrying a new set of challenges engineers must find solutions for.”

I grew up in Grand Junction, on Colorado’s Western Slope. As a lifelong resident of Colorado, I have always enjoyed the opportunity the state has for outdoor recreation, especially skiing, mountain biking, hiking and camping. Because of this, I knew that I wanted to attend college somewhere that offered similar access to the outdoors as my hometown. I have loved my time at CU. I have had great opportunities to work as an engineering intern and to study abroad. Boulder is well known as a great town to attend college in and I couldn’t recommend it enough. One of the first things I learned about myself in college is that I need to go outside of my house to study and work on homework. My favorite place to do this is the Earth Sciences Library. It always seems to have a quiet, relaxed atmosphere and plenty of available seats. Additionally, they have rotating displays of some really cool maps that are great to look at when you need a break.

How did you choose to study Civil Engineering at CU? What sets apart CU’s Civil Engineering Program?

After considering several universities, I realized that Boulder offered me the best combination of a great location and the ability to study at a great engineering school. I enrolled as an open option engineering student but soon realized that I wanted to study civil engineering, as it offered me a great opportunity to work on designing large scale projects in many different disciplines. I am now a senior specializing in Structural Engineering.  I think our CEAE department has both great students and faculty. I also think they work hard to foster good relationships with local and national civil engineering firms. I really appreciate this as it makes me confident in my ability to land a job after I graduate.

What enrichment activities (including internships, research, study abroad, etc) have you been involved in at CU? How have these affected your experience here?

Of all the opportunities I have been offered while at CU my personal favorite was the chance to spend a year abroad. I went to Newcastle University in the UK and had a great year living and experiencing another country. I also made some great friends who came and visited Colorado this summer. After spending nine months bragging about what a great place Colorado is, I was so excited to back up everything I said.

What is a highlight of your academic career at CU? This could be a class, lab, project or research.

I really enjoyed my Engineering Drawing class. We learned first drawing plans by hand and then moved on to creating plans using Revit. The final project of this class was a design project where students got the chance to design either a bridge or a house. I really enjoyed using BIM software and I believe it was great to be exposed to software similar to what practicing engineers use as a sophomore.

What do you plan to do after graduating from CU? How has your educational experience helped you prepare for this?

I really enjoy design work and plan to pursue a career in this after graduation. I am currently applying to both entry level structural engineer positions as well as graduate school. I think a Master’s degree would really benefit my career, especially as a structural engineer but I also am going to see if I have any opportunities immediately after graduation.