Isaac Oakeson: All right. Welcome to the Civil Engineering Academy podcast, Danny. How you doing?

Danielle Schroeder: Doing well. Thank you for having me.

Isaac Oakeson: Yeah. I'm excited to have you on. I think many people have seen your face probably floating around on the ASCE or other channels as a new face of engineering there. And so excited to have you on to maybe talk a little bit about that. But before we dive into stuff about that, why don't you tell us a little bit about your background? How you found yourself in civil engineering yourself?

Danielle Schroeder: Sure. So first in terms of education, I earned my bachelor's and master's in civil engineering in 2017 from Drexel in Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia specifically. And since graduation I've been working at Pennoni as an associate bridge engineer, and I'm coming up on my four-year anniversary later this year. I'm in the transportation sector where I focus primarily on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of bridges and other transportation-related structures. And my story into civil engineering is twofold. So first, my dad is a carpenter by trade and even built the house that I grew up in. So I learned about the construction process at a younger age. However, I didn't learn about engineering specifically until I attended an engineering girls' camp during my third year of high school, and that was hosted by a local college. At this camp, I learned that civil engineering would be perfect for me because it takes the side of construction and combines it with application of math and science, which were two of my favorite subjects growing up.

Isaac Oakeson: Awesome! And so you went into bridge engineering. While you were in school, had it -- I mean, most people struggle with kind of which discipline they want to go into. What made you go into bridges? Why did you go that route?

Danielle Schroeder: Good question. So during college I had three six-month internships, and I kind of used those to kind of see what I liked and what I didn't like. So my first co-op was in water resources and on the public side, and I realized that I didn't want to do water resources when I graduated. My second co-op was actually at Pennoni, but as a transportation co-op. So I worked with the transportation group, which is subdivided into structures, bridge structures, highway and traffic. So I got to dabble in different tasks and different projects for each of those three. And I think at that time I was like, "Ooh, highways are really cool. I think I want to go into more of the highway design." So then my third co-op, I worked at Jacobs Engineering, on the private side, a much larger firm and realized I didn't want to go into highway engineering. But I got to try it out for six months and see what I liked and what I didn't like. So ultimately, when I was nearing graduation as I was applying for jobs, I applied for Pennoni and requested to be more on the bridge structure side, because that was what I ended up liking the most of my experiences during co-op.

Isaac Oakeson: That's great. And so now I guess now that you're kind of knee-deep in it. What do you see -- I mean, and you also do a lot of outreach with stem and a lot of things of that nature. But in your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges that you see maybe in civil engineering? And then also to go along with that, what do you see are the biggest rewards, in your opinion?

Danielle Schroeder: Okay. So my answer is kind of both a challenge and a reward, and that is that every day is different. So specifically as what I do as a bridge engineer, there's so many parts to these projects. The smaller parts of them like calculations, quantities, the computerated design, the CAD, so that we're putting together those drawings to be able to be submitted to specifications, all of that going into a project and someone who's only a few years out, I'm working on a bunch of different projects, so it can be challenging to switch between projects. But I'm learning so much from those experiences. To give another of the biggest rewards, I think especially in civil engineering, one of the honors is working with a team to bring these projects to life. Out of all of the engineering disciplines, I think civil engineers have one of the largest impacts on people and the projects that I'm working on are making a difference in my own local community, which is really cool. And going back to bridges, while I may not know every each and end user of each bridge, it's really cool to be able to have that positive impact on such a large group of people through my work.

Isaac Oakeson: That's great. Yeah, I totally agree. I think civil engineers -- It's a unique field where we have an impact on humanity in a very interesting way to keep things going. Whether it's roads we drive on, bridges, water we drink. I'm in the utility industry, so we help keep the lights on through transmission design work. So there's just all kinds of different ways we impact society. So that's awesome. One of the neat things I know you worked on as a bridge engineer is a big project, the Burlington-Bristol Bridge. Could you tell us where that's at, what challenges you faced, some of your achievements with that one?

Danielle Schroeder: Sure. So the Burlington-Bristol Bridge is a moveable vertical lift trust bridge. So when I say "vertical lift", it moves up and down like an elevator so ships can pass underneath. It crosses the Delaware River from Burlington County, New Jersey to Bristol township, PA, and is operated by the Burlington County Bridge Commission and was first opened to traffic in 1931. So, you know, not working on the original design and construction of this bridge. And this bridge has gone through numerous modifications and rehabilitation projects throughout the years, but when we were tasked with this project, it hadn't been fully repainted in over 30 years because of the presence of lead-based based paint and the challenges that that poses. And to clean steel for repainting, for folks who don't know, you'll have to include additional weight because of tarps, access rigging and other things to take off that lead-based paint.

Danielle Schroeder: So our role in the project that we were tasked with was to design and size retrofit plates to provide the adequate capacity for the individual component members for this additional weight. So strengthen the bridge so that it can be repainted and all that goes along with it. Ultimately we have three types of retrofits that we ended up designing. So some top cover plates, some bottom cover plates, and some side cover plates. It was a side member, so we had to sandwich it with two side cover plates. And then all of these retrofits typically consists of like a full-length cover plate. So panel point to panel point for each of those with splices and built-up connections, because, again, an existing bridge already has these connections and panel points and such. So you need to accommodate the existing as-built of your existing structure.

Isaac Oakeson: It sounds complicated.

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah, it was fun, though. In terms of the schedule part of it --- That's the design. Both the design and construction were completed in a tight one-year schedule. So this was July, 2017 to, I believe, July, 2018. So just a year of design and construction, which was personally awesome for me because I got to work on the design and then almost immediately go into the construction side where I was reviewing shop drawings and getting to do a site visitor too.

Isaac Oakeson: What in your opinion, since you were designing stuff in the office and then you got to go out into the field, what are some things that you saw that maybe are different from working in an office to the way they're actually doing things in the real world? Just curious.

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah. No, it's a good question. Specifically with this project, the original as-builts, you know, constructed in 1931 our as-builts were hand-drawn plans. So hand-drawn plans that were scanned in. So sometimes it's hard to even read some of the dimensions that they would give. And then also, I would say in general back then there wasn't as much detail sometimes, you know, documented on those plans. Or if it was, you know, you can't see it now because it's been scanned. So there was a lot of things that we would do in the field to, you know, make sure that the thickness of the cover plate that was out there was 7/16, was it actually 7/16 Because we need to put in a filler plate so that our retrofit plate would sit flush. So things like that where you can look at these as-drawn or as-built plans, but some things may be changed slightly in construction, which will affect things like bolt spacing or the placement of those retrofit plates by a little bit. Because especially in our field, down to like the 16 inch is important when you're talking about steel.

Isaac Oakeson: True. Well, that's good advice. I think that's an awesome project. That sounds like it was a big one for you guys. And thanks for sharing that with us. I wanted to turn some attention to STEM. You do a lot of work for STEM outreach and things of that nature. So what exactly do you do for STEM outreach?

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah. So I am a huge advocate for STEM outreach and education for students. Particularly, I usually focus on educating students from kindergarten to 12th grade. As I talked about in the beginning, I didn't learn about engineering until my third year of high school, so I kind of want to pay it forward and make sure that, you know, those coming behind me know about engineering earlier than I did so that they can explore that as a possible career for them. So through STEM outreach, I frequently volunteer or even lead outreach events. One of my favorite STEM outreach programs is the WTS, or Women's Transportation Seminar, Philadelphia Chapter, Transportation YOU Program, which is what I've been leading since 2018. This program is free for the mentees, hands-on mentoring program. Informal mentoring program, meaning we don't actually match the mentee with a specific mentor.

Danielle Schroeder: But this program is for girls, ages 13 to 18, to introduce them to the diverse world of transportation and the many career pathways that are even just in transportation. Right now, it's a little bit lower, but at a maximum, we've had 50 mentees and over 30 mentors, which are all transportation professionals in a variety of different careers. It's really cool just to see their interest grow and get feedback from them. So it's kind of been a two-way street of, "Okay. Well, what do you all want to learn about?" So we talk about the transportation side of things, but we also cover things like professional development. So, writing that first resume, how to prepare for a job interview. So things like that that we also cover that I think they find benefit from.

Isaac Oakeson: That's awesome. What would you recommend for people in other states to get involved with that? That STEM outreach?

Danielle Schroeder: So that's a perfect question, because one of the silver linings of right now, as we shift to more virtual meetings, is that STEM outreach has also kind of gone virtual. Personally, it's given me the opportunity to connect with students across the US, but even globally, because back in February I got to talk to students in the UK about my journey in civil engineering, which wouldn't have been possible if we weren't focused more on virtual meetings right now. For those trying to get involved in their local area in STEM outreach, I definitely recommend getting involved in your local professional organizations. WTS, ASCE, Society of Women Engineers. There's so many global organizations that have local sections that you can join that are most likely doing STEM outreach in your local place.

Isaac Oakeson: That's great. Oh, go ahead.

Danielle Schroeder: I was going to say one other thing. STEM outreach also doesn't need to be super complicated. I did a virtual early this year for first and second graders where I simply read to them Rosie Revere, Engineer, on Zoom. So virtual meeting. And then answered questions that they had about what it is to be a civil engineer. So STEM outreach can be as simple as that.

Isaac Oakeson: I love that. Just reading stuff that gets the mind going.

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah. And I love, I love -- I mean, I love talking to all students, but I think first and second graders have so in-depth questions about things that it blows my mind.

Isaac Oakeson: Awesome. It sounds like, you know, all of these societies, these are all great areas for women that can join these as well. Is there any advice around women joining engineering that you would like to share to get into this field?

Danielle Schroeder: Sure. The best advice I can give, especially to women who are considering a career in civil engineering, is don't be afraid to take a risk. Sometimes you'll fail and things won't go perfectly according to plan, but as the famous Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take." Particularly during college, I learned this for myself that he only way I was going to grow is by taking chances and doing things outside of my comfort zone. And I really urge you to do the same. More specific to civil engineering, as we kind of talked about, the field itself can be so broad. If you see someone in a career that sounds awesome to you, don't be afraid to reach out. Professionals like myself want to help the next generation explore the vast and awesome career paths that you can take specifically, even in civil engineering.

Isaac Oakeson: I've been blown away, actually. You know, you don't really know what you don't know, and until you're in a position, you can kind of see all the different areas that you can go into as you interact with other people, whether that's project management, or even ownership or entrepreneurship, if you wanted to go that route. But there's just a lot of different ways you can end up going. So don't think that, I guess, because you get an engineering degree, that's where you're going to be staying, if that's not exactly where you want to stay. So there's a lot of different options there.

Isaac Oakeson: Well, I want to talk to you a little bit about how you became the 2021 ASCE New Face of Engineering. You were honoree for that. What is the process around that? How does that even start? And how did that happen?

Danielle Schroeder: Sure. So for folks who don't know, ASCE, or the American Society of Civil Engineers, annually puts out a call for applications for their New Faces of Civil Engineering Recognition Program. It's further divided into collegiates and professionals, and for each year up to 10 people are selected for the honor of top 10 New Faces of Civil Engineering honoree. For the professionals edition, which is what I was a part of, there are two main qualifications that you need. One to be a ASCE member, and two to be 30 years of age or younger as of December 31st of that application year.

Isaac Oakeson: Dang it. I'd miss it.

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah. I think that's why it's got the "New" of the name, I think. I think is what it's infered. But on a side note, there are tons of awards that ASCE does have annually for a variety of different things. But in terms of this specific application, it consists of questions like, professional activities, technical society activities. If you're involved in those, list those and what your involvements have been. And then a few short essay responses. So for this past year's application, my favorite question that was part of it was "How would you describe your job to a third grader?" So with my STEM outreach events, I think it was a little bit easier for me to tackle that question, but it was definitely an atypical question that I usually see on an application like this. You also need a nominator. And so to provide the -- You don't need a letter of recommendation, but you need a nominator and to provide their contact email, presumably so that they could reach out to them during the judging period.

Isaac Oakeson: So was your nominator a boss, or someone in the working industry, or a professor? I guess it could be any one of those.

Danielle Schroeder: It could be any of those. I decided to dream big and I actually reached out to the founder of Pennoni, Chuck Pennoni, to be my nominator, to be part of that. Which was a little scary, a little -- He's fantastic, I've talked to him before. But it's definitely always still intimidating to ask someone like that. But kind of going back to my previous question of don't be afraid to take those risks, because you missed a hundred percent of those shots you don't take. So if I didn't ask the answer was "No", because I didn't ask.

Isaac Oakeson: Right. No, that's great advice. And I think most people are willing to help you. You just simply need to ask. You know, who wouldn't want to help somebody that's trying to get this award? That's great. I thought you were going to say the president of the United States or something. So I was like, "Wow". Okay. That's awesome. Okay. Sorry. Keep going. So the process. What else is there?

Danielle Schroeder: That's pretty much it. So it's filling out that application. I believe more often than not the application period closes in that November, December timeframe. So folks are listening and thinking about applying, look for it around then. But yeah, talk about what you've done. The best advice I can give is talk about what you've done, especially if it's for ASCe, since this is an ASCE award. I'm trying to think of a better way to explain it. But it's about telling your story. So kind of putting it out there as more of a, I like to call it like a college application essay, as opposed to the technical writing that we're used to. Those technical reports where it's very straightforward. Here you're kind of telling your story in this application, if that makes sense.

Isaac Oakeson: That's great. Yeah. What have you seen has come from being a part of this? Is it great to just have on a resume, or what has come of being an ASCE New Face of Engineering?

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah. Lots of recognition. Some people that I didn't really know have been emailing me or anything within my company, but even farther beyond that, just congratulating me. But also more on the STEM outreach side. I know for the New Faces right now, we're hopefully getting together soon virtually to see what we can do in terms of putting together more of that story part and talking about our story for ASCE to hopefully use for more committee on pre-college outreach, or CPO, for their youth to kind of extend. Hopefully inspiring more folks into civil engineering, especially younger students.

Isaac Oakeson: That's fantastic. I mean, it sounds like a lot of networking too. I know I reached out to you as well, so you're probably getting more recognition that way. So that's fantastic. That's great. I'd like to ask you a little bit about the Society of Women Engineers, what they do, and how people can be a part of that. So, What's that one about?

Danielle Schroeder: Sure. So Society of Women Engineers, or SWE, is also a professional society that was founded about 70 years ago. Since then it's grown to about 40,000 members across the globe and its mission is to empower women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders. For the record, you also do not need to identify as a woman to be part of SWE or become a SWE member. It's about supporting those in that field to advance in their careers. So just to keep that out there. Right now for SWE, I am one of 20 or so SWE senators. So the SWE Senate is the strategic body of the society and it advises the board of directors. So SWE's board of directors and the membership on strategic issues. And personally, this experience has been really cool because I'm getting to work on like strategic planning skills, which isn't something that I would usually get to do in my day-to-day job, or at least at the level I am right now.

Isaac Oakeson: So that has a nice ring to it. The SWE Senate?

Danielle Schroeder: Yes.

Isaac Oakeson: I like that. What are some of the strategies? What are we trying to do? Well, I mean, can we share some of those tips? What's our goals?

Danielle Schroeder: I can't particularly talk about specifics, but it's generally saying, "Okay. Where do we see the Society of Women Engineers in five years, in 10 years, in 15 years down the line?" And we make strategic recommendations to the board of directors of, "Hey, these are some tactical actions that could get us to that future vision for the society", which is really cool, but also difficult at the same time. I'm very used to the tactical side of things. So kind of doing environmental scans and kind of doing some small focus groups to find out how we can help the society down the line is very challenging, but also very rewarding.

Isaac Oakeson: That's great. So we can just Google search Society of Women Engineers and people can probably join the group there?

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah.

Danielle Schroeder: Awesome. That's great. Okay. Well, let's talk about some resources. Is there any resources you'd recommend to the CEA audience here? At least according to --- Oh! She bring it up the books.

Danielle Schroeder: I have my bookcase behind me, the beauty of the virtual world right now.

Isaac Oakeson: They're just right there.

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah, exactly. So I have two book recommendations for y'all if that's okay. First, I'm pretty sure you probably already heard of this, but How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Very good book. I think it's about 80 years or so old now, like the first time it was published. But it's filled with like timeless wisdom about how to inspire people. I don't know about you, but I love history. So it's been nice a lot of the historical examples that come with this being an 80-year-old book, that's in here. And then also it goes into different principles throughout the subsections. And then of course gives you a nice little summary at the end of each. So I appreciate that to kind of reinforce what you just read.

Isaac Oakeson: It looks like you got a page tab there. Must be a favorite, huh?

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah. I can show you. Let me see it. But there you can kind of see one of the in a nutshell summaries.

Isaac Oakeson: I like it. Okay. We'll definitely share that with others. What's this other one you got?

Danielle Schroeder: So I don't know if you've heard of this one, but She Engineers by Stephanie Slocum. I think it's maybe a few years old now. But Stephanie is a structural engineer and she talks about her career journey so far. But also give some awesome advice in terms of how to become a technical expert in your field, how to work on your communication skills. On the converse side of this being more of a, you know, three-year-old book, it talks more about things like email versus calling someone -- Versus texting, because messaging is kind of part of our job too. So like, when is the best time to use what communications. And similar in the way of Dale Carnegie's book, at the end of each chapter there's a summary and also some like call-to-actions. So essentially Stephanie assigns you homework at the end of each chapter, which was kind of cool, or at least I find cool.

Isaac Oakeson: That's awesome. I actually have not heard of that book. So that's the one that I will have to check out myself. So that's really great. We'll link those in the show notes as well, so people can check those out anytime they want to. Danny, you've shared a lot of great insights and wisdom with us. I really do appreciate it. What's the best way for people to reach out to you or connect with you, if they had questions about engineering or just wanting to connect?

Danielle Schroeder: Yeah, absolutely. You can find me on LinkedIn at my full name. So, Danielle Schroeder. Most people call me Dani, but I put my full name on LinkedIn. And then I'm also fairly active on Instagram and Twitter at the handle, @danitheengineer.

Isaac Oakeson: Perfect! Okay. Well, I appreciate you jumping on to the Civil Engineering Academy podcast. I really do think you've got a bright career in future. I'm curious, like, where you see yourself in like 10 years? What do you want to do Dani?

Danielle Schroeder: 10 years from now. So 10 years from now, I will hopefully have my PE. I'm hopefully taking that early next year.

Isaac Oakeson: Excellent.

Danielle Schroeder: But beyond that, I think I would like to get more on the strategic side of things. I do enjoy what I'm doing right now. I hopefully will be managing projects, but I also hope to be helpfully using the strategic planning skills that I'm learning through SWE and other means to be able to help my company. So it's kind of taking those skills learning and professional societies and bringing it back to my company as like a symbiotic relationship.

Isaac Oakeson: Perfect. I like it. Okay. Well, I had to throw that out there. I just waned to know where you see yourself. Anyway, I appreciate you jumping on the show and we'll see you next time.

Danielle Schroeder: Awesome! Thank you for having me, and I love what you're doing on this podcast.

Isaac Oakeson: Thank you! All right.