CIVIL ENGINEERING GRAD SHARES LIFE LESSONS
What better way to illustrate the goal of strengthening the bridge between Old Dominion University and its alumni than by inviting a Civil and Environmental Engineering Department graduate who works as a bridge designer to speak at his alma mater?
Tom Jenkins Jr., a 1999 magna cum laude civil engineering graduate, recently was given the honor of being the first speaker in the inaugural ODU Batten College Alumni Association Lecture Series. He spoke on April 22 to students and faculty at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
Jenkins, 37, is a senior bridge designer for the FIGG Engineering Group in Tallahassee, Fla. Among other projects, he is currently part of a team of engineers that is working on a new structure to replace the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed Aug. 1 last year.
Oktay Baysal, dean of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, said the new lecture series is designed to connect the real-world experience of success with academic drive in the classroom. "Prominent college alumni will be invited to return to the campus in order to demonstrate their leadership and service experience that they have gained since their graduation from Old Dominion University."
Thinking back to Jenkins' days as president of the school's chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in his senior year, Gary Schafran, chair of the civil and environmental engineering department, said, "I have been a faculty adviser for 19 years, and a lot of presidents have faded from memory. Tom is one of the ones still very strong."
While a student, Jenkins was captain of the ODU Steel Bridge Team, which was invited to national competitions in successive years in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Dallas. He received both the Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Award for Student Excellence in Civil and Environmental Engineering and the William J. Thompson Memorial Award for Most Outstanding Civil Engineering Student.