Tj Paul: Council of Outstanding Early Career Engineers - 2015

Project Manager, Kiewit Infrastructure, West Vancouver, Washington

Strong industry involvement in Oregon State’s engineering program can set students up for successful careers. Just ask TJ Paul. “I think that was the biggest thing that prepared me for a life after college — getting a glimpse of what was out there, what the industry would offer,” he said. “I was getting that all along the way, from my freshman year through my senior year.”Paul completed three summer internships with Kiewit as an undergraduate, training as an engineer on two bridge projects, including one of the largest suspension bridge projects undertaken in the United States: the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The quality of his work allowed him to move right into a full- time position as a project engineer upon graduation.“New suspension bridges aren’t being built every day, so it was a great opportunity,” he said. Paul was involved in some capacity with nearly every element of the bridge over the next four years. “All my work on that job was primarily field engineering, up through the last year and a half, and then I was a superintendent directing the work.”Paul said he would be content to spend his career with Kiewit. “I consider myself a very driven individual, and they’ve been very good to me,” he said. “This is the industry I’ve always wanted to work in — constructing bridges and infrastructure projects in general. My goal is to continue to plan, build, and construct some of the most complex projects that exist.”