A mechanical engineering major with a minor in mathematics, Rivera found a mentor in Assistant Professor of Physics and Engineering Josiah Kunz ’12, whose guidance helped him navigate both his studies and his path toward a career.

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

Rivera put his engineering skills into practice through projects with an impact beyond the classroom. In community systems engineering, his class designed a playground for Jacksonville and presented its proposal to the city council. For his senior capstone, Rivera’s team developed a prototype biomedical device for Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach.

Internships in civil design, surveying, bridge inspection and field engineering further prepared Rivera for his career and helped him discover an interest in working on-site. After graduation, he joined Kiewit as a civil field engineer, working on a power plant project in Maryville, Missouri, where he helps coordinate operations, planning and daily work with construction crews.

Rivera said IC’s rigorous engineering program and close relationships with faculty gave him the confidence to take on new challenges from his first day on the job.

“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 means having more than technical knowledge. It means having the confidence, experience and support system to put that knowledge to work.

“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.”

Read more from this issue: here.