Leah Noble Assignment 5

When I was young, one of my favorite activities was creating structures with Legos. I loved putting the thousands of pieces I had into one big pile and building my own unique car or house out of them. I wasn't sure how this hobby would help me in the future until I join my school's Technology Student Association (TSA) in 7th grade. We competed regionally, state-wide, and nationally in tasks related not only to technology, but also engineering, biomedicine, and the environment. My favorite completion was one in which we had to draft and construct a bridge of specific dimensions out of balsa wood (a very thin, almost foam like wood) and super glue. The goal was for your bridge to survive the most applied pressure without breaking. I won 1st place 3 times in this competition. This is when I knew I wanted to become and engineer, more specifically, a civil or structural engineer.

This year, I am doing research on culverts with a professor in civil engineering at UK as part of my mentoring project. This has helped my see what the job is like and all the different aspects of it. I plan to major in civil engineering and then get a Master's degree as well. This career appeals to me in several ways. First of all, I love math and science which is the basis of civil engineering. Also, civil engineering pays pretty well, especially when you become more experienced and gain a strong reputation.