CEE Spotlight: Heather Thomas

Hometown/County: Harrison City, PA

What drew you to Civil and Environmental Engineering? 

Given that I’m a staff member I can’t say that I was drawn to CEE in the same way a student or faculty member might have been but I do enjoy supporting the research in CEE as the research our students and faculty do is critical to improving the world. 

How did your lens on diversity, equity, and inclusion take shape both as you grew up and as you entered adulthood and academia? 

To be honest, I grew up in a small, rural town that basically had never heard of DEI and my only lens on DEI was through reading books and once I got older articles online; so, overall my exposure to DEI was very limited as was my understanding.  But as I entered adulthood, I went to college at The University of Pittsburgh in Oakland and for the first time really was able to meet people from different backgrounds and began to develop a further understanding of DEI. Since then it’s been an ongoing process of learning more about DEI and further developing my lens – I’ve been lucky enough to work in education-related fields my entire career which has really helped me to continually educate myself on DEI.

What positive experiences have you had at CMU that you would hope others would have? 

I’ve really found that everyone at CMU – students, faculty, staff – are all so supportive both professionally and personally which has been such a positive experience that I really hope others at CMU can have.  Personally, it’s great to work in an environment that I feel accepted and supported in and that’s really why I believe DEI is so important because I want others to feel that acceptance and support too.

In your position, how do you advocate for inclusion? 

In my position, I advocate for inclusion by serving as the co-chair of the CEE DEI Committee. All the members of the CEE DEI Committee are so passionate about DEI so it’s really an honor to work with them to institute changes that really allow us to create a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse community.  Additionally, I try to advocate by inclusion by personally being welcoming and supportive to all members of our community to help create a positive, inclusive environment.

Do you have any advice for incoming (students, faculty, or staff)? 

Make sure you’re surrounding yourself with people that lift you up and want to see your success just as much as they want to see their own.