Since graduating in May ’08 with his B.S. in Civil Engineering, Ethan Cote moved to New York City and began working at the Times Square headquarters offices of Hardesty & Hanover, LLP, an engineering consulting firm. He has been involved in the preliminary stages of a large project for the Kew Gardens Interchange in Queens, a stretch that involves six-plus bridges in need of redesign. As an undergraduate, Ethan was involved in a host of activities. Read his pre-graduation profile below.
High School: Coginchaug Regional High School, Durham, CT
Reason for coming to UConn:
“I like being well balanced. I was attracted to UConn because it offers so many opportunities to engage in diverse activities while also getting a valuable degree. I’m also a big sports fan. I played baseball in high school, and UConn’s excellent reputation in sports was a factor. I enjoy going to the UConn basketball and football games.”
Why engineering?
“I like civil engineering because it’s so broad. You can specialize at UConn in structures, transportation, site design, geotechnical and environmental engineering – all under the Civil & Environmental Engineering umbrella. I find that attractive.”
Impressions:
“UConn civil engineers are sought-after by employers throughout the region. Most receive multiple job offers because the program is so well respected. Professor [John] DeWolf is a particularly strong force in structural engineering because of his work on Mechanics of Materials [Beer, Johnston & DeWolf]. He’s also a good mentor.”
Beyond academics:
“This year, I’m President of UConn chapter of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honor society, and of the ASCE chapter Steel Bridge Club. Chi Epsilon offers tutoring as one of its primary activities. I’ve been a member of the Steel Bridge Club for three years. My brother, Ben, really reestablished the club, and we were team members until he graduated. Our team has competed in the nationals four out of the last six years. We’re perhaps the strongest team in New England. We meet about once a week and do our construction on Saturdays in our own workshop. I like the fact that Steel Bridge lets us apply our classroom instruction to solving real problems. We have a range of ages in our membership, so the more senior members sort of mentor the younger ones. We have a really great advisor, Michael Culmo (B.S. civil engineering ’83, M.S. structural engineering ’86).
“I also play guitar in a band, Write Her Down, which performs pop/punk style music. Right now, we have three members – all engineering students (Adam Lyman and Keith Grayeb make up the rest of the band) – but we’re looking for a drummer. We do some covers but try to do more original material. We play coffee shops and other venues. We performed once at the Student Union and at Webster Underground in Hartford. We’re moving from acoustical to electric right now.” [See photos and promos athttp://www.myspace.com/writeherdown]
“I’m also a member of the Engineering Student Leadership Council, which includes top leadership from the various engineering honor societies. I’m especially interested in promoting engineering, since there is such a shortage of engineers. I like outreach initiatives, particularly with the high schools.”
