Noe Santos applies his communication and teamwork skills in his career on a daily basis, allowing for an open exchange of different opinions and outlooks. Santos credits Senior Design and UNLV for providing him the tools and opportunities to gain those skills.
How did the experience of Senior Design help prepare you for your career?
Project and time management was a big factor that allowed for a successful Senior Design experience. Communication and planning skills are always necessary in the office to support the office and team environment.
What is your best memory from UNLV?
My favorite memory is the student conferences for the American Society of Civil Engineers. A piece of advice to other students would be to participate in engineering organizations to get to know other students better. You never know when the networking could help land you a job.
What brought you to your career?
I was focused on water resources engineering throughout my undergraduate degree and through my master’s program. One of my advisors was able to connect me to a student program with the Bureau of Reclamation, which would allow me to pursue a doctoral program while learning about reservoir operations. I’ve been with the Bureau of Reclamation ever since.
Do you have any advice for students struggling to find jobs or decide on an engineering major?
It never hurts to join a student organization and attend job fairs – the more things you can do to get your name out there, the more chances you have to land an interview and potentially a job. As for classes, I would say to try different electives to see if a particular field seems to “click” with you more.
What are some takeaways from UNLV which have positively affected you in your career?
One takeaway from UNLV was providing opportunities to work in teams with people you may not have talked to normally. To this day, I am working with people from around the country on different projects. I think having the same experience at UNLV allowed me to work better in large teams and be open to other points of view.
What is one project or design you are most proud of? Why?
The Concrete Canoe project took up a large portion of my free time as an undergraduate. It helped me learn about material sciences, allowed me to meet new people, and it was a challenge using different fields of engineering.
Is there anything else you would like to share with current students?
Keep studying and working hard. Also, don’t be afraid to help your fellow students out with difficult assignments.
