Jonathan Bower, P.E., M.ASCE, is a 2017 New Faces of Civil Engineering - Professional honoree and a project engineer at L.A. Fuess Partners, INC. He graduated from the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University with his bachelor's in 2010 and his master's in 2012. Since childhood, Jonathan has been fascinated by the built environment, inspired in part by time spent on job sites with his grandfather, a general contractor. For Jonathan, civil engineering will always be a creative profession, and he helps young students to see that through volunteer work with programs like ASCE's Civil Engineering Club. This article was written by Ben Walpole and originally appeared on the ASCE News website.
Jonathan Brower’s official title with the ASCE Texas Section’s Dallas Branch is Civil Engineering Club Champion – emphasis on “champion.”
Brower has been mentoring students and scheduling an array of civil engineering lectures at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas since 2013. That’s nearly four years of service for juniors and seniors in the civil engineering and architectural design classes.
Almost every Friday. For four years. Champion, indeed.
“They’re fun to be around. I really appreciate that time,” Brower said. “Being passionate about what I do, I love sharing that with high school students.”
Brower, a project engineer for L.A. Fuess Partners in Dallas, has been selected by ASCE as one of the 2017 New Faces of Civil Engineering – Professional.
Brower helped set up the CE club at Woodrow Wilson four years ago, aligning his presentations with class curricula. He helps students with letters of recommendation or college applications. Sometimes he just talks to them about sports – he was a state tennis champion as a student at El Paso Cathedral High School, and recently qualified for the Boston Marathon.
“When I get to go there and show them pictures of projects I’m working on, they’re so interested and excited,” Brower said. “It reminds you of how cool engineering really is. So, it definitely energizes me.”
His biggest role now involves scheduling local engineering professionals from a variety of disciplines as guest speakers. Some talk about their jobs, others bring activities for the students.
“The teacher has told me, after some of the presentations, he still hears the students talking about it the next day,” Brower said. “And a lot of the time I’m just like the students at the presentation. I love sitting there, learning about what the speaker’s doing. I don’t know what a water resources engineer does in their daily life. So, from a professional standpoint, I’m meeting engineers and other contacts that I never would have otherwise.”
Brower followed his uncle and grandfather into the civil engineering profession. He credits them, along with a particularly inspiring high school physics teacher, with not only building his interest in civil engineering but also his desire to give back to students.
At L.A. Fuess, Brower recently completed work on several buildings that are part of an office/retail development near Dallas. He enjoys combining design work with construction administration.
“I’ve been happy starting to take on more responsibility with my projects, doing a lot of the design on my own,” Brower. “I really like the construction work too, the fast-paced problem-solving side.”
He plans to continue working with local students as well.
“I think that’s going to be a constant in my career,” Brower said. “I’d like to see it just continue to grow – other schools. I’d really like to see the program grow throughout Dallas.”
ASCE will honor Brower and all 10 New Faces of Civil Engineering at the 2017 OPAL Gala, March 16, in Arlington, VA.