The Cal Poly Society of Civil Engineers has won the prestigious Robert Ridgway Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for the most impressive student chapter in 2010. This is the second consecutive and fourth time overall Cal Poly has won this award over the past 20 years.
The ASCE chose Cal Poly’s chapter out of 280 student chapters nationwide based on its activities and community outreach. The chapter has existed at Cal Poly for nearly 30 years. Faculty adviser and civil engineering professor Dr. Gregg Fiegel said the club has been successful because of the quality of the members.
“The typical Cal Poly student is hardworking, humble and team-oriented. These kinds of traits are really apparent in SCE members,” Fiegel said. “We have very high participation and every one of our students is unique, so we really try to provide opportunities for everyone to find something fun and educational.”
To win the Ridgway award, a student chapter has to demonstrate outstanding work both inside and outside its university. Cal Poly’s chapter had a full schedule this year with guest speakers, intramural sports and field trips. This year, the club attended a Giants baseball game and toured AT&T park. These events are designed to bring the members closer together and inspire more interest in civil engineering.
The chapter was the overall champion at the ASCE Pacific Southwest Regional Conference in Las Vegas on April 7. President and civil engineering senior Steve Gurske, who has been a club officer for three years, said the club’s activities were the reason he became interested in becoming more involved as a freshman.
“The SCE is really about getting its members out of the classroom and helping them meet new people, while getting real experience in civil engineering,” Gurske said. “A benefit of winning this award again is that we all look more valuable to potential employers.”
University chapters of ASCE must also demonstrate a commitment to serving the community; Feigel said the chapter has enthusiastically embraced the responsibility. The club took on several community service projects throughout the school year to improve San Luis Obispo while teaching about civil engineering.
On May 22, the club will teach fourth through eighth graders to make concrete discs, and then in June the club will bring the students back to teach them about how they work. The club has also worked on several major engineering projects for the San Luis Obispo community, including building a playground for the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.
Several members of the SCE also won individual awards. The awards are based on lifetime dedication to the SCE. Two students in the nation win each year. Civil engineering senior Roshani Patel won the National Student Leadership Award for handling the club’s community service and civil engineering senior Kyle Marshall for managing the club’s Concrete Canoe team.
“As civil engineers we will serve the public directly, and so we make it one of our priorities to get our members involved in the kind of work they will do as professionals,” Patel said.
The SCE submitted its annual report to the ASCE that described every activity and event that the club held throughout the year. Jane Alspach is the ASCE manager of honors and awards, and provided comments the Ridgway selection committee made about the SCE.
“The (Cal Poly) chapter’s mission to enhance civil engineering education…was achieved through a well-rounded slate of activities. In short, they exemplify the ideals of an ASCE Student Organization,” the committee’s report read.
The SCE will finish its successful year with a bang by hosting the National Concrete Canoe Competition on June 17 through 19. Civil engineering teams from universities all over the country will come to Cal Poly to present and race concrete canoes they have built.
The chapter’s members are thrilled to win the Ridgway award again, but Fiegel said it only made the students want to do even better next year.
“There is definite continuity with the effort that the club has put into their work in recent years,” Fiegel said. “I think our past success really is an incentive for present and future members to go above and beyond.”