Austin Kirkpatrick – Outstanding Graduate
Austin Kirkpatrick
B.S.E. in Construction Engineering
Graduated from Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Arizona
Austin Kirkpatrick was a member of the ASU chapter of American Concrete Institute (ACI) and served as the vice president of the organization.
What led you to study engineering and your specific major?
Engineering to me is the ability to perform a task that others can only dream of completing and making it a reality. Math and science came naturally to me, likely from my mother who was a math teacher and my dad who still indulges in electrical engineering, so I knew engineering was the only route for me. When you couple that the fact that everyone in my family attended Arizona State University, my destiny was already chosen. Construction Engineering and I had found each other.
What is your most memorable moment at ASU?
There is one competition that sticks in my mind as the most memorable experience I have had at ASU. The competition was in Chicago as a trial run before the construction RENO competition. Basically we were in an electrical competition (a field our team knew very little about) and we had a day to put together a proposal containing an estimate, schedule, etc. Let’s just say we had to throw down our binder full of material from two floors up just to turn it in on time. Ended up placing second overall in a category everyone thought we would fail in and made $750 for our school!
What are your plans after graduation?
General contracting may have opened my eyes to construction but concrete contracting stole my heart. I began interning with Suntec Concrete just over a year ago and my whole world (no understatement) has changed. The work ethic and motivation that everyone brings everyday to work is beyond belief. The amount of time the company puts into your growth as an employee as well as you as an individual is unheard of. In case I haven’t made it overwhelmingly clear, I signed on with Suntec as a project engineer for when I graduate.
Once a Sun Devil, always a Sun Devil.
