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Whole Life Concepts Project

Prepared for: Chris McDaniel Engineering 1201

Prepared by: John Kunz

I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help on this assignment, nor witnessed any violation of the UNC Charlotte Code of Academic Integrity. John Kunz October 18, 2013

I. My Passion for Engineering My passion for engineering all started when I was just a little kid in preschool. I used to love to play with the blocks and Legos and put things together to build stuff. Ever since then, Ive never lost interest in designing and constructing anything as small as model cars, all the way up to building a tree house in my back yard. In grade school, my best subjects were always math and science while I struggled in language arts and history. I have an applied mind so I like being able to take an idea, sketch, or even a design on a piece of paper and develop it into something real and with a purpose. I have always been a very hands on person. One of the influences on me as I grew up was my grandfather. He grew up in a very poor family, and went into the Coast Guard after high school. After that, as a young man he worked full time washing windows and other odd jobs to earn enough money to raise his young family while attending engineering school. He eventually earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. I have many wonderful memories of working side by side with my grandfather building and fixing things on the work bench in his garage. I learned hands on how to build things and make things work, from boat radios to small motors, and I loved it! Although a simple detail, one of the most important things my grandfather taught me was to think carefully about the project before starting it. He taught me think through the process to ensure you get the desired result. This concept seemed to come natural for me and I believe I was successful at small engineering projects even as a young boy. As I grew up to my early teen years, I began to understand how important it would be to apply my knowledge and learned skills. I also realized that I needed to begin saving money for my future. My parents were both hard working people who worked long hours and days, so I realized at a relatively young age that I wanted and needed to help. At age 10, I started to cut grass and soon after expanded to cutting neighbors and family members grass, as well as mulching and landscaping projects for them. I planned and scheduled these projects, and soon acquired the help of a good friend to help complete the work on schedule. One time my friend did not complete the edging portion of a project thoroughly and I very quickly was informed by the customer it was not acceptable. After apologizing, and working with my friend to fix the problem, I gave the customer a discount for the work and assured him that future landscaping projects would be carefully completed. I quickly learned how important good communication, planning, work ethic, and even leadership, is to be successful. Although many kids grow up learning what they may desire to do for a career, and have experiences that help mold their future, I believe the experiences with my grandfather and working with others to accomplish projects and save money, will serve me well as I pursue my passion in the engineering field. My desire to be an engineer never wavered, but as I matured I became aware that my greater strength was in applied engineering. I can always complete projects, and so far have most often been successful, even at a young age with landscaping projects. I dont mind being a part of the initial planning, but I would much rather be the one in the career field that takes the plans and put them into action. Knowing my attention span, I could never see myself as the type of person that sits in an office all day doing busy work, which is one of the main reasons I can see myself being a very good engineer. So far in my quest to be an engineer, I have been successful at creating or building new

things as well as thinking of new ways to use equipment and parts.

II. My impact on the world One of the biggest impacts I would like to have on the world is having a major role in building something huge. Ive always been one of those people that wonders how big things are really built and how much work must be put into constructing huge buildings, bridges, and structures. Something Ive always wanted to do is drive across a bridge or stand on the top floor of a skyscraper and say I built this. I know this may not be realistic for a skyscraper, but I do believe that it is important to have aspirations and goals of accomplishing meaningful things. Its hard to believe all the planning and time it takes to build something as simple as a house. Then when you think of something 100 times that size, it is really unbelievable to think of everything that had to be thought through in the process. Building something huge would be extremely interesting to me. On a smaller scale, I want to be sure that I have a positive impact on my community as well. In my mind, to be successful in my engineering career, I must not only have a positive impact globally, but be appreciated in my community for any way that I can provide improvement. As an engineer, I hope to have this opportunity. An example for this is Habitat for Humanity. Seeking to put Gods love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope. www.habitatwake.org So far, habitat for Wake has served 737 families. www.habitatwake.org/about-us/strategic-plan-2012-2015/ I would like to volunteer in my community to help with the engineering requirements of these projects going on in my area. I believe I could have a huge impact on the county I live in. Another area I would like to have a positive impact is the environment. I would like to help develop ideas or equipment to reduce emissions to the environment or to provide more environmentally friendly products or processes. This could be anything from improved pavement design for highways, or further development of machines to use different of cleaner fuels. For example, at Kansas State University, engineers are developing stronger concrete with manufacturing techniques that use biofuels and reduce carbon emissions. http://www.kansas.com/2013/03/20/2724246/k-stateengineers-work-on-reducing.html These cleaner systems, in theory, should also improve health of people making these products or installing the products, because of less fumes and toxicity. By being a part of these type improvements, I believe it will help the overall efficiency of our world which leads to the economics of it all, and then our overall economy. Our economic well-being is dependent on the engineering field. For example, for our country to be profitable and compete globally, we must continue to engineer improved parts and processes. I feel the engineering profession can help our economy by focusing on these type improvements. It excites me to think that I will be able to take part in these improvements by being an engineer. By being a part of design improvements, or implementing improved processes, I will feel that I have had a positive impact on society.

III. The knowledge and skills I will need To get where I want to be in this e field of engineering, there are many different things I will need to accomplish here at the Lee College of Engineering at Charlotte. I will have to do very well in the undergraduate program for Civil Engineering Technology and

complete all the requirements for this degree I am trying to pursue. This degree program is very rigorous and will definitely create some challenges for me. For starters, I did not place into the correct math for my degree program so the math I am taking right now wont even count and is basically a pre requisite for what I will really need. Another thing that I have heard from other students in this program is that the chemistry courses are very time consuming and difficult so I will have to apply myself a lot in those courses. On top of that, I still need my liberal studies, English, and other introductory engineering classes that are a part of the general education. I also have to complete some of the technical electives that are specific to civil engineering. Although the curriculum of 128 credit hours of the engineering technology program is difficult, most of these areas of study are of great interest to me. One of the most interesting is the study of physics. Physics is the science that deals with the structure of matter and the interactions between the fundamental constituents of the observable universe. Physics is concerned with all aspects of nature, covering the behavior of objects under the action of given forces and the nature and origin of gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear force fields. www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/physics This course is of interest to me because it brings together and explains all phenomena. Understanding the laws of Physics is an integral part an engineering education. Another area that interests me is engineering economics. This dives into engineering decision making related to costs. Engineers must decide if the benefits of a project exceed its costs and must make this comparison in a unified framework. www.isr.umd.edu/~austin/ence202.d/economics.html The areas I am most excited about studying are the specific areas of design. The courses in my major that involve actual design are Highway Design and Construction, Structural Steel Design, Reinforced Concrete Design, and Structural Analysis and Design. Of these courses, the Structural Analysis Design course has a laboratory requirement which will work well with my desire for hands on engineering experiences In addition to the many technical courses required for my degree program, there are also many non-technical course requirements that are also very important to a wellbalanced education and necessary for success in the workforce. Some of these include English and social science such as Sociology or Psychology, and liberal studies. Not only must you have strong technical skills, but you must be able to communicate effectively with others and perhaps an understanding that others will have different skills and outlook and we must strive to all work together for the greatest improvements. I believe that the knowledge and skill I will develop by taking the required courses for my degree program will provide me the ability to excel in the engineering field. Although I am early in my academic career as a first semester freshman, I believe there will be several possible job possibilities once I graduate.

IV. Applying what I will know There are several career choices once I graduate. One of these careers is that of a Construction Supervisor, such as in the field of transportation. This position would oversee the daily work done by construction workers that are building roads or bridges. The position would be responsible for making sure that all work is done according to specifications, and that all processes were carried out correctly. This is very important because the quality of product such as the road or bridge is dependent on the quality of the materials and workmanship. These jobs are found all over the world, although I would like to stay in the southeastern part of the USA.

Another career opportunity is the position as a Construction Inspector. This type of job is located worldwide. One is currently posted with ICA Engineering firm in Raleigh. A third example of a career in applied engineering is a roadway engineer in the transportation department. This job includes work that a civil engineer and a construction manager would work together to complete. Some of the projects include: roadway, bridges, right-of-way, geotechnical, environmental, and survey capabilities. A job like this could be found anywhere in the US and would most likely be done through the DOT or other private firms. http://www.engineerjobs.com/job.php?jobid=138693 The US national average for entry level civil engineers is $58,808. www1.salary.com/Civil-Engineer-ISalary.html All of these opportunities provide a young engineering graduate an opportunity to make a real difference and therefore contribute to society.

V. Conclusion With a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering Technology, great communication skills and a strong work ethic, I believe I will be able to secure a great job and make a positive impact. I believe that my overall success will be a whole life concept, as I described in this paper, including passion for my chosen field, knowledge, application of knowledge and skills, and finally having a positive impact on society. The whole life concept model is important because it specifies that there are many components to a successful corporate philosophy, and you must understand and believe in it to succeed. The four rings of the model are Passion, Knowledge, Applications, and Impact. My passion for engineering began early in my life when I started building things with my grandfather and has gotten stronger as I matured. My desire to be a part of this important field has grown even more as I begin to understand the complexities of the engineering field. At the beginning of my academic career here at Charlotte, I am beginning to explore the second ring which is knowledge. It is very important that I get a strong math background to begin the math requirements of this discipline. Although I have always done well in math throughout my pre-college academics, I now understand that it is much more difficult and expansive here in college. Although I have sometimes struggled with language arts, I am concentrating on my first English course here at Charlotte and am doing well in this course so far. These are examples of courses that will be important components of the knowledge ring. The application ring is equally important as it includes components such as good communication skills, teamwork, ethics, and leadership that I believe are the keys to ultimate success. The impact ring is the result, or how you end of using your passion, knowledge, and skills to make a difference. I will strive to make a positive impact on my community, environment, and economy, and hopefully make a global impact as well! This assignment has influenced me in a positive way. It made me think about the details of my education, such as specific courses needed, and the other components that will hopefully make me successful in my chosen field. It made me think of my childhood when I first began to realize my desire to build things and fix things and apply my knowledge to make things better. The research also reminded me of why I selected Civil Engineering Technology as my major. I am more committed than ever to work hard to learn the basics behind engineering, and to develop my engineering skills and abilities.

Bibliography "Strategic Plan 2012-2015." Habitat For Humanity. http://www.habitatwake.org/about-us/strategic-plan-2012-2015/ Roy Wenzl. "K-State engineers work on reducing carbon emissions in concrete production with biofuels | Wichita Eagle." Local and breaking news for Wichita and Kansas | The Wichita Eagle and kansas.com. http://www.kansas.com/2013/03/20/2724246/k-state-engineers-work-onreducing.html "Physics." Merriam Webster. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/physics Mark Austin. "Introduction to Engineering Economics ." Institute for Systems Research. http://www.isr.umd.edu/~austin/ence202. "Civil/Roadway Engineer at Resource International, Inc. | EngineerJobs.com." Engineering Jobs // EngineerJobs.com. http://www.engineerjobs.com/job.php?jobid=138693 "Civil Engineer Salary." Salary.com. http://www1.salary.com/Civil-Engineer-I-salary.html

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