Graduate Ready

A mechanical engineering major with a minor in mathematics, Rivera was drawn to IC for the opportunity to build relationships with professors, including his advisor and mentor, Assistant Professor of Physics and Engineering Josiah Kunz ’12.

"Any questions I had or any problems I had, Dr. Kunz helped me and served as a great mentor," Rivera said.

Rivera also gained hands-on experience through his coursework. In community systems engineering, his class designed a playground for Jacksonville and presented the project to the city council. His senior capstone team developed a prototype biomedical device for Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach.
Internships in civil design, surveying, bridge inspection and field engineering helped Rivera discover his interest in working on-site. After graduation, he joined Kiewit as a civil field engineer. He is now working on a power plant project in Maryville, Missouri, helping coordinate operations, planning and daily work with construction crews.

Rivera credits IC's challenging engineering coursework and accessible professors with giving him confidence as he began his career.
"I come out here, and I feel like I can do anything because I did all that they assigned to me," Rivera said.

For Rivera, being Graduate READY meant leaving IC with both the technical preparation and relationships to succeed in the field.

"Having good role models, good people around you, good advisors, and having the accessibility to talk to them and build a relationship with them is something I think IC really helped prepare me for in the real world.”