Building a strong foundation inside and out is what Andrew Gatto, a construction engineering senior, is all about. To Gatto, without building community from within a team, it’s not as easy to build a solid foundation in your work.
“Construction is really all about working as a team,” Gatto said. “We are all working towards constructing one outcome, so building a team and coming together is essential to the industry.”
Inspired to inspire others
Gatto’s passion for team building has existed throughout his entire undergraduate career. In just his second semester at Iowa State, he became inspired to be a leader when he joined the construction engineering cornerstone learning community, and has been a peer mentor in the learning community for the past five semesters.
“In learning community, I remember when Beth Hartmann used to teach, and she gave me inspiration to want to get involved,” Gatto said. “She was always really excited and good at building teams, so I have been taking my inspiration from her throughout my career.”
As Gatto continued to grow in his undergraduate career, he began leading clubs and conferences, playing a large role on the Iowa State Associated Schools of Construction Heavy/Highway team for the past three years and being on the cabinet for the Associated General Contractors club on campus.
What’s next? CyTown construction and grad school
Graduating this May, Gatto is heading straight into the workforce as a project manager for Elder Corporation. In his role, his first project is working on the new CyTown construction next to Jack Trice Stadium.
This coming fall, Gatto plans to return to campus to pursue a master’s degree in Civil Engineering with a Construction Management emphasis with Jennifer Shane. Gatto plans to research how to help the Department of Transportation with cost estimates on heavy highway construction.
At the same time, he hopes to retain his passion for team building and leadership and be a teaching assistant for Katie Madson in constructing engineering courses.
“I think it is really important to build a strong and supportive team while helping people grow,” Gatto said. “So I hope to continue doing that after graduation and into this summer and through my studies this fall.”
Gatto’s advice to current undergraduate students? Stay connected and get involved, he says.
“My advice to students is to get to know one another and get involved,” Gatto said. “This program has so many opportunities, so the best thing you can do is get involved with those opportunities. People that you have met early on, could be your best friends later.”
