Graduate student council launches exCYted lecture series
Work-life balance takes priority at first event in newest engineering lecture
The Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) Graduate Student Council hosted the first event in a new speaker series, exCYted, on Jan. 19. Establishing a successful professional career while setting aside personal time was the topic of discussion at the lunch-and-learn event for graduate students and faculty.
This first event drew more than 40 attendees. Dr. Beth Hartmann, a senior lecturer in construction engineering, and Phil Barutha, a construction engineering doctoral candidate, kicked off the spring exCYted series.
Each 15-minute presentation centered on work-life balance. Hartmann’s presentation, “Do You Have Money For …” challenged the audience to think about what brings happiness to each individual. “A Cup of Coffee,” presented by Barutha, followed the role that daily routines have in his journey to find a balance between professional and personal goals.
exCYted started as a simple idea scribbled on a sticky note one afternoon last fall, explained council member Lauren Schwab.
“One theme the grad council noticed was a desire to strengthen the relationship between faculty and graduate students in the department,” Schwab said. “I started with a rough idea for an event to stimulate conversation. Dr. James Alleman listened to my initial concept and provided a lot of valuable feedback that helped shape the current event.”
The council has planned four more events for faculty and graduate students coming up this spring semester. Future lecture dates are Feb. 15, March 8, April 5, and April 26. Each exCYted lecture starts at noon and will take place in Town Engineering Building room 250. Speakers for next month’s event include Dr. Peter Savolainen, associate professor in transportation engineering, and Ellen Nightingale, a master’s student in transportation engineering. The series will feature speakers from all five focus areas of CCEE: environmental, structural, construction, geotechnical/materials, and transportation engineering.
CCEE Graduate Student Council is a student organization of Iowa State University’s Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Department. For more information about this lecture series or to get involved with graduate student council, email Lauren Schwab. Make sure to follow ISUCCEE on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (Iowa State University Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering and ISUConE) for reminders of upcoming events and opportunities.
Story submitted by Lauren Schwab. Edited by Kate Tindall.