YMF

As a somewhat reluctant networker, ASCE and especially the YMF have been invaluable to me. They put me in direct interaction with my peers in low stress environments. About 6 years ago I met someone at an ASCE event that recommended a PE exam review course. After taking the course, I passed the exam on my first try. It just goes to show, you never know how valuable a new contact can be. As civil engineers I think it's important to interact with our peers and share our experiences. We should never stop learning and growing, and ASCE fosters an environment for personal and professional growth.

I became involved with ASCE my sophomore year of college, and it was easily the best decision I made during my four years. ASCE has provided me with not only a network of professionals and mentors, but also a lifelong group of friends. All these people have assisted me in all facets of life and have helped me open doors in my career that I didn't think were possible. The YMF has served as a way for me to gain technical knowledge, develop soft skills, and become more involved in my community and the civil engineering world.

Have you ever heard the old stereotype of the anti-social, awkward engineer who just wants to sit in a cubicle all day and do math? Though this might've been true in a different time and place, it's clear that whoever coined that phrase never met the engineers of ASCE YMF in Philadelphia. A fun and very active society, the YMF is the best way for new engineers starting out in Philadelphia to meet others in their profession, learn about the industry, give back, and have a drink while doing it.

Even though I was active in my collegiate ASCE chapter, I was unsure whether I would participate in ASCE as much when I moved back to Philly. However, after attending my first event, the summer Happy Hour at Fishtown Hops, I knew the YMF was a fit. From a great venue overlooking the river to friendly people, I left there wanting to get more involved. Afterwards I learned about all of the other organized service events such as teaching students at the Chester A. Arthur Middle School and helping the hungry through the Philabundance event. To be able to go beyond my profession and help others is really rewarding, and the fact that I can do it while meeting other great people made it even better. Even though I'm a newer member, I have already gotten a lot out of it, as the YMF has helped to build my network, have fun, and help others. So if you sometimes feel like that anti-social engineer, get out of your cubicle and join the Philadelphia YMF, you won't regret it.

I relocated to Philadelphia from Atlanta for a job without knowing anyone in the city, and a Philadelphia YMF event was one of the first social events I went to after moving. It was a great experience and I enjoyed getting to know other engineers my age, since I work in a very small office and don't get many chances to meet other engineers.

My experience with the YMF made going to Philadelphia ASCE events better for me because I knew there would be people there that I recently met and could talk to about work or just our personal lives. I look forward to getting more involved in the YMF!

Although I am a planner by training, I work with civil engineers on a daily basis. Attending ASCE YMF events has introduced me to engineers across the Greater Philadelphia region. I appreciate that ASCE YMF offers educational events, such as one I attended about stormwater management; volunteering events, like making food with the West Philly Soup Squad; and social events, like the Phillies Tailgate or the Winter Social. I look forward to attending more ASCE YMF events in the future.

The YMF is an excellent local civil engineering organization that continuously offers valuable career development and professional networking opportunities. I have enjoyed attending YMF events since my first Bowling Night in 2009 when I was still a Temple ASCE Student Member. Some of my favorite events have been the exclusive tours to local infrastructure projects which show a side of the city that's not available to the public. As someone who is not inherently outgoing, networking always seemed like an uncomfortable chore that I would be lousy at. Once I started regularly attending events, I realized that simply making an appearance was more than half the battle. Before too long, my few acquaintances led to more and more, and chatting with other YMF members became as natural as talking to coworkers or friends. The relationships that I have developed through attending events and being plugged into the local industry have helped me navigate through several different stages of my civil engineering career - from learning about different companies to hearing about how my specialization, water resources, can apply to other sectors. The longer I serve as a civil engineer, the more I appreciate the connections I've made through the YMF. I highly recommend anyone who is studying civil engineering or is new to the area to get involved in future YMF events.

In the summer before my senior year of college, I decided to actively equip myself with good professional development skills, as I knew I would soon begin my job search. I was already a member of my university's ASCE Student Chapter, but I sought out more. During my summer internship, I involved myself in every networking event I came across. I attended an ASCE YMF happy hour event, where I was able to make connections with peers and potential mentors. The welcome for a new member, who had never attended any prior event, was more than warm. I was introduced to other new and existing members and happened to run into some familiar faces I recognized from school. I see the ASCE YMF as a positive platform to grow my professional career and support my social life.

Back in 2008, during a college tour in Philadelphia, I remember looking at my parents and mouthing that I never wanted to step foot in this city or school again. Being from a small town in Massachusetts, the big city of Philadelphia, which promised opportunity and brotherly love, seemed way too overwhelming. However, fast forward four years, there I was in Philly again moving into an apartment in Graduate Hospital to start my first "real" job as a civil engineer.

After the culture shock wore off, I started to build both a personal and professional network of relationships. Knowing I was new to the city, a close coworker of mine suggested attending ASCE YMF events with her. I love meeting new people and jumped on the opportunity to branch out from my company and start networking with fellow engineers.

Even as a new face, the YMF members were always extremely friendly and welcoming. The events were not only fun and educational, they were also making a difference. In the past few months, I've attended Dream Big, an engineering movie aimed towards promoting STEM interest within the younger generation, and have volunteered with the Chester Arthur School Civil Engineering Club. Both programs, started by ASCE, have had such a positive impact on the engineering community and Philadelphia's future engineers. I'm looking forward to becoming even more involved and seeing what the ASCE YMF Board and members will do next.

As a member of the Widener Student Chapter of ASCE, I had the opportunity to attend presentations given by civil engineers from a variety of different fields, ranging from aerospace design to traffic engineering. In addition to the speaker series, construction site visits were a great way to see how classroom material gets applied in the real world.

During my junior year of college, I participated in the Mock Interview Program, which is run by the ASCE Philadelphia YMF. This program gives college students a chance to hone their interview skills by "mock interviewing" with civil engineering professionals. Following the interview, the reviewers evaluate the student's performance and provide feedback to the interviewee. This was an awesome experience and allowed me to improve several aspects of interviewing I hadn't given much thought to previously.

Additionally, the YMF hosts socials, service events, and happy hours throughout the year. Attending these events allowed me to network with engineers outside of the office environment, which helped jumpstart my career and ease the transition into the full-time engineering industry. ASCE and the Philadelphia Section's YMF offer a wide range of programs for students, recent graduates and professionals in the civil engineering industry; these events are a great way to create new relationships...and you'll have fun while doing so!

After moving to Philadelphia from Florida, I was looking for a community of engineers to join and decided to attend some YMF events, since I had been heavily involved in my college chapter. I was immediately impressed by the number and variety of ways that the Philadelphia YMF connects engineers to each other and to the local community. Since joining the Philadelphia YMF, I have not only expanded my local network of engineering professionals, but I have had the privilege to volunteer at several service events, including roadway and trail cleanups. In addition to serving the local community, these events have been a fun way to meet other ASCE members who have a passion for service and come from a variety of civil engineering disciplines. Whether you are most comfortable meeting people at networking dinners, socials or service events, the Philadelphia YMF offers a wide variety of opportunities to get involved with the ASCE chapter that allow you to grow your professional network and serve the community.

Though my involvement began in college, I didn’t grow to see the full benefits of ASCE until after graduation. Several of my co-workers were involved with the Philadelphia YMF and encouraged me to come out to events, so I tagged along. I enjoyed the events, finding the YMF members to be genuine and welcoming, so I decided to join the Board… and I haven’t looked back since.

During my time with ASCE, I’ve experience many benefits to involvement: professional development and growing my professional network, opportunities to give back to the community through service and outreach, and technical advancement. Perhaps the best part, though, is that I’ve had a ton of fun doing it all and made some lifelong friends. I’d highly encourage all young engineers to get involved with ASCE now, and to stay involved! The initial networking becomes easier, and you see the value increase as you and your new friends all grow in your career. To that same end, once you’re involved, I’d ask that you look to be the gateway to ASCE for others! I know that, without my co-workers believing in my abilities and encouraging me to attend events, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

For most of my college career I never really saw the importance of ASCE because I thought it was all just brown nosing and boring meetings. I fought against the idea of joining any organization like ASCE for years. That all changed the summer I interned with a member of the ASCE YMF Board and he suggested I attend one of their construction tours of the Schuylkill River Trail. Surprisingly, the event was an enjoyable experience. I was able to meet young professionals and learn about the work they did and their experience in the profession. Through ASCE, I was able to experience my first networking events while still in school. While in conversations with young professionals that I knew, I would then be introduced to other professionals at the event; I was expanding my network. I did not feel like I was brown nosing, the events were not boring, and eventually, when I started my career and participated in work discussions, I brought the skills I learned through the YMF. This allowed me to speak to my coworkers and clients with confidence, which I believe will allow me to advance more rapidly in my career. The ASCE YMF continues to serve a positive role in my career development by organizing informative sessions such as the Project Management and Budgeting presentation. I now invite my coworkers to join me at ASCE YMF events so that they, too, can enjoy the benefits the organization provides.

Many would agree the most visible contribution of the YMF to the engineering community is its abundance of opportunities for career development, be it networking events, technical presentations, or touring active construction sites in the greater Philadelphia area. But beyond the multi-million dollar projects and happy hours, YMF offers an experience equal in value and personal growth through various public outreach programs; I myself had the good fortune to volunteer for the ASCE CivE Club at Chester A. Arthur Middle School.

The CivE Club meets about once a week over the course of one full school year. The students work with volunteer engineers to complete activities corresponding to each week’s topic, which cover various fields of civil engineering such as transportation, water resources, and structural engineering. As someone who only had a vague idea of what civil engineering entailed even as a freshman in college, I am confident the CivE Club conveys a level of understanding that will equip the students with valuable knowledge. Volunteering for the CivE club has also been a humbling experience for myself; I’ve re-discovered core concepts of civil engineering and remembered why the work we do is so important.

Getting to teach and help the students learn the concepts built into each lesson plan and activity has refreshed a sense of pride in both my own work and the efforts continually put forth by the YMF. The CivE Club and other YMF public outreach programs are the polish that allow this framework of engineers to shine.

I recently volunteered my time at Chester A. Arthur Middle School’s afterschool CivE Club. The students were bright and attentive to my introduction to traffic engineering. The students participated in an interactive activity which related back to Traffic Engineering. It was a great opportunity to interact with eager young minds that may (hopefully) become future Civil Engineers and leaders. Also, it was eye-opening to see new methods of teaching and learning for STEM students. The time commitment and preparation was minimal, and I highly recommend YMF Members participate in the CivE Club!

The ASCE YMF has been a vital part of plugging me into Philadelphia’s pulse. I moved to Philly about two years ago from Atlanta, GA, an uprooting that required me to rebuild my professional (and social) network. My co-workers suggested attending various professional events. The ASCE YMF events are always welcoming, cover interesting topics, and provide opportunities to get involved. Since then I have joined the Board and was appointed as one of the K-12 Outreach Co-Chairs. This position has been very rewarding because I get to see the passion from my fellow Co-Chair, the eagerness of professionals to volunteer their time, and the genuine interest students exhibit as a result of our classroom presentations. I requested this position for a second year given the importance of exposing young students to the field of civil engineering, women in engineering, and STEM topics in general. The ASCE YMF has provided an opportunity for me to get involved, dream big, and develop many of the connections to make it happen!

The ASCE Philadelphia YMF has taken my professional development to the next level through the various events and programs they offer. Throughout my time at Temple University I’ve attended several YMF events which led to me making irreplaceable connections. The ASCE provided me with the opportunity to attend the Workshop for Student Chapter Leaders (WSCL) in Pittsburgh, PA, where I was able to network with some of the Philadelphia YMF Board members along with other ASCE members from around the country. During the WSCL, I made a professional connection that ultimately led to me being offered a summer internship. I would challenge any civil engineering student to see what ASCE can do for them.

The ASCE Philadelphia YMF has played a huge role in my development as a project engineer and a highway supervisor. I joined the ASCE YMF early in my career because I saw it as a great networking opportunity. I got involved with the YMF board because I wanted to develop my leadership skills. Serving in various board positions over the years gave me the opportunity to interact with different individuals as well as the experience of planning events of different sizes. When I later advanced to an executive board position, I benefitted from the experience of managing other board members and volunteers. Overseeing the tasks of a board member is very similar to managing a graduate level employee; discussing a task, setting expectations, managing his/her time (as well as your own), motivating others, and taking responsibility.

During my YMF presidency, I had the privilege to oversee 23 board members. As a result, I learned and strengthened various management skills, most importantly, time management. The YMF taught me the importance of prioritizing tasks and responses. In addition, those skills correlated directly to my day-to-day job responsibilities as a project engineer at my firm. For example, I was able to improve my communication with my staff, co-workers, clients, and other sub-consultants. Ultimately the YMF gave me the confidence to lead and motivate others.

Being involved with ASCE as a college student was one of the best choices I’ve made as it relates to my future in civil engineering. People used to always tell me that I had to find a way to get my foot in the door. While I understood what that meant, I didn’t quite know how to go about doing so. After going to several ASCE events that allowed me to meet young engineers and engineering principals, I realized that this organization was how I was going to get my foot in the door. When it came time to seek a full-time engineering position I reached out to the connections I gained through ASCE to obtain advice and see what opportunities were available. Those connections are what led me to several interviews and job offers early on in my search. ASCE, the Philadelphia YMF and its members have a lot to offer civil engineering students and students should take full advantage of that.

The ASCE YMF has been a valuable resource for me as a college student throughout my time at school. The YMF’s countless events have introduced me to numerous engineers within the industry and have allowed me to create personal relationships with other members to the point where I am comfortable going to them for career advice or questions about school. The YMF has also helped me land an 8-month internship with a company that works on projects in the fields of civil engineering I am highly interested in. Through attending YMF events such as CANstruction, I was introduced to an engineer who works for the company I recently interned at. After talking to him several times at various YMF events, we eventually exchanged emails and remained in contact. When it was time for me to start looking for internships he provided me with the opportunity to interview with the company he works for and was ultimately offered a position. I do believe that without the relationships I created from attending YMF events, I would not have had the chance to meet, interview, and obtain that position as an intern. I am very glad that I got involved with the YMF and I highly recommend getting involved to any college student studying civil engineering.

Recalling my time at ASCE Construction Institute (CI) Days that I attended this past August in Boston, MA, it’s hard to think about all that occurred in only a span of four short days. ASCE CI Days is a competition where civil engineering students from all over the country are teamed up to participate in a competition to create a complete bid package consisting of a cost estimate, schedule, and proposal. This competition was based on an existing $250 million pedestrian bridge rehabilitation project. I was able to lead a team of six over all the hurdles that were placed in front of us, present in front of a panel of construction industry professionals, and submit something our team was proud of.

In addition to the competition, ASCE incorporated a construction site visit, scavenger hunt, speed networking event, bowling, and technical presentations into the agenda. It was truly an honor to be selected to meet and work with such high caliber civil engineering students. ASCE CI Days is a once in a lifetime opportunity that has enriched my college experience and I highly encourage any student interested in construction to apply next year.

I’m a recent transplant to Philadelphia; I moved here from California in January following a job offer. I’ve never lived in a “real” city before so when I arrived in Philly I was pretty lost. I wanted to start my new professional network and make new friends so I decided that attending ASCE meetings and technical sessions would be a good start. I attended several ASCE events including a Section dinner meeting and YMF professional development and technical sessions. At every event, YMF Board members were there making me feel welcome. The genuine nature of the Board members I met is what “hooked” me, and so I expressed interest in being on the Board. In June, I was appointed as one of the Community Service co-chairs on the YMF Board. The ASCE Philadelphia YMF has facilitated this transition into a new chapter of my life, and I have made lifelong friends in the process.

By involving myself with ASCE Philadelphia YMF throughout my time at Temple University, I was presented with countless opportunities to network with professionals within the engineering industry. Of those opportunities, the most significant was their Mock Interview Program. This specific event required me to "apply" to one of a variety of "job openings," depending on my specific interest. After submitting my resume and position-specific cover letter, an industry professional reached out to me to schedule an interview. In this way, the event felt more real than it did "mock", and yet, it still proved to give a person such as myself (a stressed, job-seeking senior) invaluable feedback pertaining to both my interviewing and resume-writing skills. As it turned out, my mock interview resulted in the offer of a full-time position upon graduation, proving the potential reality of the YMF event, after all.