Sean Augustino

Until midway through high school, I was intent on studying medicine. However, after attending a ten-day forum on medicine and realizing that I was not ready to commit to the many years of schooling, I started to think about where my other interests were. Growing up I was always interested in the construction of great structures and the problem-solving required, and used to make small-scale “cities” either from legos and hot wheels tracks or on paper, which indicated to me that structural engineering would be a good field for me to pursue.

When searching for schools, I knew I was looking for a university where I would receive a high-level education, but without the stereotypical elite school atmosphere. It took a few visits to Cornell, but I eventually fell in love with the campus and the people, and the CEE program looked like it would be right for me. I loved the idea of an Ivy League education in a state school environment, and the Ithaca region is beautiful. Three years later, I still feel that I made the right decision.

Cornell has changed me in ways I never thought it would. As an incoming freshman I took part in an Outdoor Odyssey (then Wilderness Reflections) pre-orientation trip, and since then Outdoor Odyssey and Cornell Outdoor Ed. have been by far my greatest extracurricular involvement. In addition to helping me develop as a leader through trainings, leading students, and a Spring Break leadership trip in Utah last year, my involvement has helped me to realize that I want my career to have an environmental focus. I am hoping to find a career in which I can mix structural engineering with environmental protection, and I am trying to arrange my coursework to prepare me for that. I am also involved in the Sustainability Hub to promote sustainability on campus and with the CEE ASCE Steel Bridge project team. The two ASCE student project teams, Steel Bridge and Concrete Canoe, traveled to Montreal last year to compete and participate in the annual ASCE Student Chapter Conference. The steel bridge team has taught me a lot, because in addition to this being my first project team experience, the team was also starting from scratch last year, so we were able to impress other schools with our performance as an effectively new team.

This summer I was in Germany at the RWTH University in Aachen, participating in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program for international students. My work was in the transport and urban planning department creating geographic databases of the travel destinations surrounding the city of Aachen. It was a great opportunity to spend a summer abroad and experience a new culture, meet students from all over the US, and participate in a meaningful university project. I am hoping that this, in addition to the internship I held after freshman year, will help prepare me for work in the engineering industry.

The academics in Cornell Engineering are definitely challenging, and the workload is a large increase from that of high school, but I have not found the CEE curriculum to be overwhelming. Professors seem generally understanding of students’ needs, and keeping an active social life helps to balance the academics. There are so many activities going on around campus— my favorites are hockey games, concerts, and a capella shows. I have made a lot of memories with my friends here. I have also had the chance to explore a lot of what Ithaca and the surrounding area have to offer, from parks and trails to festivals and restaurants. I have learned a lot from my courses, and I have had a ton of new experiences outside the classroom.

As I prepare to complete my senior year here, I am trying to take the classes that will send me to the career I want, continue taking advantage of the events and activities on campus and in the area, and make more memories with the friends I have become close with. I am hopeful that by the time I graduate, Cornell and CEE will have left their mark on me and set me up for success and I will have left my mark on Cornell.