CEE graduates gathered with their families and friends in Killian Court June 5 to celebrate MIT’s 143rd Commencement exercises. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick addressed the graduates with a message of encouragement. “Crisis is the platform for change,” he told the graduates, referring to the worldwide financial crisis. Governor Patrick also described the positive social and economic changes that had occurred in his own family in a single generation.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering awarded 132 degrees in 2008-09: 14 doctorates, 19 Master of Science degrees, 14 Master of Science in Transportation degrees, 39 Master of Engineering degrees, and 46 Bachelor of Science degrees (18 in environmental engineering science, 21 in civil engineering and seven undesignated).

Graduates plan for the future

According to information the graduating seniors provided to the CEE Academic Programs Office, 22 members of the Class of 2009 are continuing their education in graduate school. Of those, 12 are sticking with the fields of civil and environmental engineering (two in CEE’s M.Eng. program), one will go to law school, one to medical school and 10 will study in other fields. For those who are entering the job market, 11 have taken jobs with CEE firms, one will work as a business analyst for a management consulting firm, one for a government agency and one as a financial analyst. Ten of those receiving the S.B. either did not respond or are continuing their job search.

CEE students garner awards from around the Institute

In addition to the awards presented by CEE at its annual awards dinner, many CEE students won awards for their achievements in other areas. Senior Mahalia Miller of Stevens Point, Wis., received Phi Beta Kappa membership as well as an MIT Award for Excellence in Foreign Languages and Literature and a Lufthansa prize for excellence in German studies.

Juniors Brooke Jarrett and Adam Talsma are traveling to Peru this summer to work on separate projects, courtesy of Kelley-Douglas Summer ’09 Traveling Fellowships. The Student Activities Office presented a Distinguished Dedication Award to Polina Bakhteiarov, a junior from Harvard, Mass. Senior Legacy Awards from the Fraternities, Sororities and Independent Living Groups went to seniors Amy Gilpin of Omaha, Neb., Elizabeth Labuz of Chicago, Ill., and Alberto Mena of Miami, Fla.

Aided by Public Service Center (PSC) grants and fellowships, students carried out projects around the world. During IAP and spring 2009, PSC Fellowships and grants were awarded to graduate students Lisa Rayle of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Sara Ziff of Santa Cruz, Calif.; seniors Kendra Johnson of Madison, Wis., Samantha O’Keefe of Carlisle, Mass. and Miller; junior Shammi Quddus of Chittagong, Bangladesh, and sophomore Fatima Hussain from Frederick, Md. Seniors Alia Whitney-Johnson of Leicester, N.C., and Lucy Wu of Oakland, Calif., received the PSC AmeriCorps Student Leaders in Service Education Award.

Paul and Priscilla Gray Value-Added Internships for summer 2009 were awarded to graduate student Mehul Jain of New Delhi and sophomore Tracey Hayse of Lexington, Ky.

CEE’s chapter of Chi Epsilon, the national civil engineering society, inducted 11 new members on April 6: seniors Tiffany Barkley of Scottsdale, Ariz., Clifton Dassuncao of Flushing, N.Y., Sebastian Figari of Lima, Peru, Wesley W. Koo of South Pasadena, Calif., Drew Loney of Nichols, Wis., Miller and Margot Spiller of Glen Rock, N.J.; and juniors Kelcie Abraham of Toronto, Canada, Amy Magnuson of Lawrence, Kan., Nicholas Murlo of Bloomfield, N.J. and Naomi Stein of Troy, N.Y.