Greenprinting the Concho‚ 2024 ASCE Region 6 Student Symposium Recap
May 2024
The 2024 ASCE Region 6 Student Symposium gathered over 700 students and professionals from Mexico, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas in San Angelo, Texas. The Symposium offered students the opportunity to showcase their year of hard work through various competitions while attending technical and career-orientated seminars, interacting with potential employers at the career fair, and social networking. The competitions couldn’t have been a success without the dedicated time and support from the 30+ wonderful volunteer judges, led by the head judge Shannon Jungman PE.
The ASCE Student Chapter at Angelo State University hosted this year’s Symposium. The student planners decided on the theme of “Greenprinting the Concho”, inspired by the revitalization of the Concho River and the sustainability of wind energy in the area. This theme underscores the importance of environmentally conscious urban planning and development, leveraging renewable energy sources like wind power to promote sustainability, and ecological stewardship in the region.
ASCE Region 6 and Texas Section volunteers led the planning effort for the 2024 ASCE Region 6 Student Symposium Career Fair, which allowed 21 agencies and companies the unique opportunity to interact with students. Students from all 30 participating universities were encouraged to attend the career fair and network with recruiters and engineers. Also, technical presentations on relevant topics for students and professionals were provided throughout the day on Thursday and Friday. Such topics included renewable energy, flood protection, forensic engineering, resume building, ethics, effective leadership, and many more. Professional attendees were also able to earn Professional Development Hours by attending these sessions.
Excitement filled the air on Wednesday as students gathered for the ASCE Region 6 Student Symposium at the Junell Center, situated within the Angelo State University campus in San Angelo. Throughout the day, 15 Concrete Canoe teams arranged their exhibits, sparking lively discussions among students sharing their year-long design endeavors. The next morning, at 8 AM, a lineup of engaging activities began, including Concrete Canoe Displays and presentations from student teams in the Surveying, Paper, and Sustainable Solutions Competitions. Post-lunch, students delved into the Mystery Design, and Timber Strong Competition, with the latter witnessing a remarkable surge in participation from one team in 2022 to seven teams this year. The evening concluded at the San Angelo Coliseum, offering students the chance to unwind at the San Angelo Rodeo, enjoying bull riding, steer wrestling, and thrilling carnival rides.
On Friday, the highly anticipated Student Steel Bridge Competition took place, with 20 universities participating, attracting a large crowd of onlookers. Teams were judged based on their construction speed, lightness, aesthetics, stiffness, cost estimate, economy, and efficiency, making for an exciting and competitive event. Later that day, the second social gathering was concluded with the ASCE Younger Members hosting a social at Campus Pavilion, offering students a chance to relax and socialize with a DJ, pizza, and photo booth. The final day of the event featured fun activities such as concrete canoe, concrete bowling, and sandcastle building. This year, teams were able to race their concrete canoes, and what a blast it was to witness the students race against each other. It was a great time at Mary E. Lee Park and the Symposium concluded with the ASCE Region 6 Awards Banquet. The event was attended by various leaders from ASCE Regions, Sections, Branches, and Student Chapters from 30 universities. ASCE President Marsia Geldert-Murphey, PE, F. ASCE was also present and spoke about the future of civil engineering and ASCE’s role in it. The President congratulated the organizers of the Symposium for their remarkable efforts and recognized the participating student chapters and their teams for their hard work. With over 700 attendees at the banquet, the closing ceremony was a momentous occasion, celebrating the achievements and year-long hard work of everyone involved.
