I remember being a very curious little boy, and I remember Montessori satiating that curiosity by providing me with novel and engaging activities every day. The variety of subjects I was exposed to gave me the opportunity to, for the first time I can cognizantly remember, develop piqued-interests. I remember playing with building blocks, and being fascinated by how the different shapes would affect how high I could build my towers. I remember experiencing new flavors for the first time one afternoon at Montessori when one of my classmates’ presented their family’s culture and culinary delights. I remember playing with water and sand on tables and being captivated by how the water seemed to pull the sand along with it. All-in-all, I remember being given the opportunity to get ‘hands on’ with the subject matter, and leaving each afternoon excited to talk my parents’ ears off about what I did that day.
Since Montessori, I graduated from Conestoga High School and went to Penn State, where I studied engineering and graduated with a degree in Biological Engineering, with a focus on Natural Resource Engineering and a minor in Environmental Engineering. Soon after Penn State, I sat for the FE exam and received my E.I.T. licensure allowing me to begin practicing in Pennsylvania. Shortly after, I accepted a job at HNTB as a Water Resources Engineer. While working full-time for HNTB, I completed a Master’s Degree at Villanova University in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering. Currently I am 26 years old and work for HNTB as a Water Resources Engineer with a focus on Hydraulic Infrastructure Design. My work focuses on combining principles of fluid dynamics with Civil Engineering to improve the resiliency and safety of infrastructure, channels and the surrounding environment with regard to flooding and large scale storm events. This coming fall I will qualify for my Professional Engineer (P.E.) license and sit for the P.E. Exam, allowing me to practice independently in the United States. Montessori taught me to channel my curiosity into activities from a young age which I’m thankful for, even if I likely drove Ms. Davida crazy with incessant questions.
