For Valentine's Day, a Story of Love in CEGE

Kickoff Meeting

Just before she graduated and left Minnesota for a new job in Wisconsin, and just before he headed off to a summer at the US Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS), they met for the first time at a meeting of the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE). Now married, KC Atkins (PE, BCE 2007) and Andrew Atkins (PE, SE, BCE 2008) met with CEGE to tell us their love story, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Andrew  - I could tell, even then, at that first meeting. She was so outgoing and bubbly and smiley, and obviously very smart. Then, getting to know her and seeing how committed she was to her family and her new career, I just really admired all that about her.

KC - He was passionate about ASCE and engineering, good looking, and very smart. I really liked his commitment, not only to his career in the industry and to learning, but I really enjoyed how he prioritized his ASCE outreach to K-12 kids. I got to know him a little bit more after that first ASCE meeting. Then he tricked me into a first date!

Andrew - Well, hey, it wasn’t under false pretenses! Our friend, Tina, who was also in ASCE, was supposed to come but didn’t show up. KC ended up being the only girl there.

“There” was the Dinkytowner Cafe and Bar (now Blarney Pub & Grill). With free pool and two-for-one taps, it was a very popular hangout. After pool, they went to Burrito Loco. A few days later, Buffalo Wild Wings. 

KC - He wooed me with food!

Andrew - I remember one night, I rode a scooter over to see you at the Super Block (residence halls). 

KC - I worked at the front desk. 

Andrew - I held a bag of mozzarella sticks between my feet on the floor of the scooter.

KC - After you left, the maintenance staff said, “Ooo, he likes you!” I liked you, too. That summer while you were at OCS, we wrote letters back and forth. 

Andrew - At that point, I was like, all right, I guess we’re doing this long distance! I had one more year of school after KC graduated. We visited pretty much every weekend. She would come to Minneapolis, or I would go to Milwaukee. At the end of my senior year, I got two job offers. One was in Minneapolis and one in Milwaukee. I took the one in Milwaukee. Obviously, having KC there sealed the deal! 

Involvement in ASCE

Their time in ASCE did not overlap long, but that is where they met, and it is a value they share. Individually they were quite involved in the organization. 

Andrew - My senior year I was the vice president of the UMN Chapter. I planned the student-led ASCE Career Fair. It was a lot of work, and a lot of fun, too. I made a lot of industry contacts. ASCE is a great organization to be involved with as a student. KC was super involved with ASCE for almost a decade after college.

KC - Yes, I was on the ASCE Board in Milwaukee and joined the national group for Younger Members. I was the Communication Member, in charge of sending out a newsletter and keeping our members up to date on events and upcoming opportunities. I did that through 2015 or so, even after we moved back to Minnesota.

In Milwaukee, ASCE participated in conferences, outreach with students including going into schools with activities and Future Cities competitions, and Habitat for Humanity. It was really fulfilling. People I met along the way are still friends. I call them when I need some industry advice.

As I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve focused on making more connections in transportation. I’m becoming involved in American Public Works Association (APWA).  Professional organizations provide great opportunities to make connections.

Careers

After living in Milwaukee, the couple moved back to Minnesota in 2011. Both were lucky to be able to transfer within their companies. Because they both graduated in civil engineering, they understand issues the other might be dealing with at work. KC now works at Hennepin County County leading the Scoping Team in Public Works - Transportation Project Delivery. Andrew recently joined HDR as Structural Business Class Lead in the Building Engineering Services group. 

Andrew - I’d say our careers are closer than most, but we still don’t fully understand what the other does on a day-to-day basis. We do share a lot of similarities—deadlines, percent progress sets, milestones, staffing, mentoring the younger generation, and career development—those are much the same for both of us. A lot of the challenges, too, late changes, small budgets, fast schedules, those are pretty comparable.

KC - We celebrate the rewards, too. When we hit milestones, change jobs, or something big happens at work, or when we have a new hire we’re supervising, we will go out and celebrate. 

Our jobs have ebbed and flowed throughout our careers; it’s been a give and take. For a while, I was traveling a lot, and Andrew was taking on the bulk of the parenting. I decided I didn’t want to be away so much, so we flip-flopped. He doesn’t travel nearly as much as I did. We have a nice balance now.

Andrew - For a while, I was doing forensic, insurance, litigation work. In that role, you have to be onsite, sometimes on pretty short notice. My new role involves a lot less travel. 

Overall, we understand how demanding engineering can be sometimes: work plus continuing education, and conferences, and public meetings at night. It is a lot of fun, but it helps that we understand where we each are in our careers, why we need to be gone, and why it is important for our careers. 

KC - That understanding helped during our licensure exams, too. Andrew also opted to get his SE (structural engineering license), which was a 16-hour exam. Now that the tests are online, you don’t have to lug your books everywhere. But that wasn’t that setup when we took our exams.

Andrew - We each went through periods of going to coffee shops for three hours every night for a few months. We got through it!

Kids

Their two daughters are, unsurprisingly, smart, funny, bright, and very interested in what their parents do.

KC - I get a lot of questions about signal timing! My oldest has noticed the all-red phase of signals. Also, she’ll notice if there is a shoulder on a road or not. We live near a higher-speed road that has no shoulders. She says, “This is a fast road for not having anything beyond that white line.”

Our youngest likes to help her dad fix things. She is definitely a forewoman at heart! She likes to oversee things and make sure things are done correctly.

Andrew - Yeah, she likes to know how things are made. We’ve watched a couple hours of “How It’s Made” on YouTube. It was fun to watch with her.

KC - Our engineering is rubbing off! We’re hoping our children will be Gophers, too, some day. But they are their own people!

Marriage

After starting their careers in Milwaukee, the couple moved back to Minnesota in 2011. They got married in 2012 at the Mill City Museum, chosen because it is near campus and offers interesting connections to their careers in structural and transportation engineering. The courtyard highlights old steel and stone masonry; outside there is an old rail line, streets, and even a pedestrian crossing. Of course, they planned the whole wedding using spreadsheets.

KC - I love that we are both civil engineers. I love that our brains can work together to fix things, whether that’s planning a wedding, something around the house, or with our kids, or something that we’re struggling with at work. I just love that he gets where I’m coming from.

Andrew - I understand her engineering brain. And vice versa.

KC - Yeah, we’re super nerdy!