Carnegie Mellon University

three engineers present to three students at a round table

April 08, 2019

Hemming Welcomes Students for Real World Engineering Program

Dorian Hemming (CEE ’11) understands the value of professional networking. And to help the next generation of CEE grads transition into the workforce, he was excited to host CMU students Charyl Tan, Andrew Thompson, and Annie Hu in Washington, D.C.—and show them a day in the life of a civil and environmental engineer.

Hemming is employed at Brown and Caldwell’s Alexandria, VA office. In conjunction with Brown and Caldwell vice president Bill Gilman (CEE ’85), he participated in CMU’s Real World Engineering: D.C. program, connecting undergraduate engineers with area alumni, to learn more about working as a professional engineer.

In addition to a tour of Hemming’s office, the students also visited Alexandria Renew Enterprises’ water resources recovery facility to learn about an upcoming tunnels project.

Hemming says that the trip helped students to see first-hand how their education will transition to the real world. Instead of focusing just on technical concepts, the students and mentors discussed how to interact with clients, solve problems in the context of public/community input, and work with a team.

“This experience allowed students to ask questions concerning their professional environment and enabled them to take the first steps in professional networking.” He’s hopeful that the students can turn the networking opportunities into future internships.

Hemming recommend that current students gain hands-on academic knowledge by taking on as many tasks as possible. “Find where your passions and talents intersect—that will make you a competent engineer. Your people skills are what will make you a great engineer.”