Madison Heppe '16

During my final spring semester at Swarthmore (2016) I accepted a job at EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., PBC (EA) under their President's Select program - a program seeking high-caliber, new graduates for a corporate marketing apprenticeship for 3-9 months before shifting to technical/consulting project work. EA graciously allowed me the summer to backpack the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) for a couple months with my dog. Thus I started officially working for EA in September 2016, at their headquarters in Hunt Valley, MD for a few months to complete the apprenticeship. I then transitioned to their Seattle, WA office to begin my consulting work as an engineer, consisting of mostly stormwater compliance, but also environmental remediation, civil/environmental engineering, marketing/business development, and environmental health and safety. After a year in Seattle, my boss put my name forth for a position that opened up in Honolulu, HI (how could I say no!). I continued to work for EA in Hawaii from December 2017 until July 2020, at the office of EnviroServices & Training Center, LLC (EA was subcontracted under them). I was a task manager for the State of Hawaii, DOT, Airports stormwater program. My work consisted of engineering design, stormwater treatment, managing Stormwater Management Plans, stormwater and groundwater sampling, asset management software implementation, permit/regulatory compliance for industrial and Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit programs, preparing reports/plans, and writing proposals. In August 2020, I began graduate school at the University of North Florida (UNF), to get an MS Civil Engineering, focus in Coastal Engineering. I hope to use this degree to aid communities with addressing coastal vulnerability. I am also studying to take the Professional Engineer's (PE) exam.