Harrison Ooi, center, and other students ease UT’s concrete canoe into the water for the Swamp Test during the ASCE SE Student Conference.
By Harrison Ooi
As a civil engineering student who just wrapped up his junior year at UT, I have had the pleasure of being the fundraising chair for the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for the 2018-2019 year.
Through working with great individuals within the executive board and communicating with local companies for donations, it has been a great privilege to watch ASCE grow as a chapter, and to also have the opportunity to watch the UT ASCE Chapter host the 2019 Southeast Student Conference. Through meeting with multiple companies, the chapter was able to successfully raise more money than ever before through their generous offers to take ASCE to the next level.
Additionally, this academic year, the team also decided to take a new, proactive measure to fund more money for the organization by creating a Volstarter. This start-up has given the opportunity for future leaders within the program to have a jump-start into establishing a more secure basis with other civil engineering companies across Knoxville and Tennessee.
It has been a great privilege to partake in an organization where everyone supports each other and contributes to the future generations of civil engineering students. While the campaign for UT’s teams participating in 2019’s conference is over, this annual event is one of the largest expenses of the chapter and we’re excited to prepare now for next year’s conference hosted by UCF. People can still donate through the link to help us pay for future expenses, such as making sure students who need financial assistance can still attend the conference, and potentially even send every student to future conferences if we receive enough support.