Peer Advising and 
Tutoring Services

 Alumni Mentoring Program 

So you've talked to all your fellow Cal CEEs and you got their perspectives. You've somehow managed to read this cheesy "survival" guide. And you've seen your student affairs advisor and your faculty advisor. They've all given you lots of good advice (hopefully), but there's something missing. You're probably saying to yourself (or at least you should be!), "I'm tired of hearing what all the academics think. I want to hear from some people that are out in the real world, doing the kind of work I'll be doing when I graduate. How can I possibly get in touch with practicing engineers to learn more about the engineering profession so I can plan my career?" Well, have we got the answer for you: the Student/Alumni Mentorship Program! 

The Engineering Alumni Society sponsors the Engineering Student/Alumni Mentorship Program. This service matches up students with Cal engineering alumni that have similar interests and goals. The mentors help students sharpen their academic focus and begin effective career planning. A mentor provides students with the value of his or her knowledge, experience, and skills gained through work experience and community involvement since the mentor's Cal days. Having a mentor can provide you with information you can't really get from anybody in the academic world, such as insights into current employment conditions, changes occurring in today's work place, what skills are needed in the workplace in addition to what you learn in your technical courses, and how to balance your professional career with your personal goals and priorities. 

Below is a list of just some of the CEE professionals that have volunteered to be mentors for the 1997-1998 school year. 
 

Organization	Position	Cal Degree(s), Year, Emphasis
Todd Associates	Vice President	MS ‘80, Construction Management
Camp Dresser & McKee	Vice President	BS ‘57, Sanitary
Kleinfelder & Assoc	Senior Principal	BS ‘61, MS ‘63, Civil
P.G. & E.	Civil Engineer	BS ‘83, Civil
ICE Japan Co., Inc.	President	MS ‘71, PhD ‘74, Civil
Golden Gate Bridge	Associate Civil Engineer	BS ‘54, Civil
Harding Lawson Assoc.	Executive Vice President	BS ‘65, MS ‘67, Geotechnical
Camp Desser & McKee	Project Engineer	MS ‘93, Environmental
Lockheed Martin (LMMS)	Spacecraft Analysis Manager	PhD ‘95, Structural
Lockwood Greene	Structural Engineer	BS ‘86, Civil
EMCON	Project Engineer	BS ‘91, MS ‘93, Environmental
Booz-Allen & Hamilton	Senior Associate	BS ‘81, MS ‘88, Ocean
US Army Corps of Engineers	Civil Engineer	BS ‘82, Civil
West Consultants	Project Engineer	BS ‘87 (MS ‘93, Iowa, Hydraulics)
Cal Seismic Safety Commission	Senior Structural Engineer	BS ‘78, MS ‘79, Structural
Norwegian Geotech Inst.	Technical Advisor	MS ‘82, Geotechnical
Bechtel Corp.	Senior Vice President	BS ‘66, MS ‘68, PhD ‘76, Civil
Jeffrey Weber & Assoc.	Principal	MS ‘81, Structural
Eutek Systems	President	BS ‘60, MS ‘64, PhD ‘72, Sanitary
Granite Construction	Project Manager	MS ‘94, Construction Management
Morrison Knudsen Corp.	Design Engineer	BS ‘92, MS ‘93, Geotechnical
Bechtel Corp.	Cost Engineer	BS ‘93, Civil
UC Davis	Research Assistant	BS ‘86, MS ‘93, Environmental
Zumwalt Engineering	Principal	BS ‘77, Civil
State Office of Drinking Water	Sanitary Engineer	BS ‘88, Civil
Alameda County Water Dist.	Retired Design Manager	BS ‘50, Sanitary
Brown & Caldwell	Construction Manager	BS ‘80, Civil
L.A. Dept. of Water & Power	Assistant Water Engineer	BS ‘91, Civil
Montgomery Watson	Associate Environmental Engineer	BS ‘94, MS ‘95, Environmental
Sun Microsystems	Marketing Manager	BS ‘86, Civil (MBA elsewhere)

As the table above shows, there is a wide variety of mentors available for CEEs including: all emphases, recent and older graduates, all degree levels, managers and engineers, non-technical professionals, and public and private employees. The Engineering Alumni Society office has even more mentors available for you to choose from.  

A very important point. 

There is one very important point that must be stressed about the mentoring program: The mentoring program is NOT a job placement or referral service!!  While looking at the list above, you might have seen a representative from a company that you really want to work for. You may be thinking: "Hey, if I get a mentor from XYZ Engineering Inc., I might be able to ask them for a job." Well, think again. The purpose of the program is not for students to get "in" with a company for a job. Nothing will anger your mentor or the EAS office more than asking your mentor if you can get a job at his/her company. If you're looking for a job, go to one of the other job placement/referral services (some are listed in Chapter VII below). 

"Okay," you say, "I'm sold. I want a mentor. What do I do?"  

Just go to the EAS office at 102 Naval Architecture Building (go up the small flight of stairs on the west side of the building). There you will have to fill out a Student Information Form, the friendly EAS staff will explain some more details to you, and you'll be able to pick a mentor. It's that simple.