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Service Projects
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We
kicked off the service events last spring by attending the annual Earth Day
cleanup along the Charles River. We were
lucky enough to procure a spot with a wonderful view of Harvard University. We spent the morning beautifying the
banks by picking up a varying array of trash (from tiny pieces of Styrofoam
cups to shopping carts).
After attending the clean up, we ventured into Cambridge for some
lunch. After lunch we made our way into Boston to check out the remainder of the
Earth Day activities. Highlights of the our ventures included a guided tour
of one of the EPA’s emergency response vehicles and watching Third
Eye Blind perform at the Hatch Shell.
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Our ASCE chapter has organized two trips to Habitat for
Humanity. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization
“dedicated to building decent, affordable homes in partnership with
very low-income families”.
On our first trip, three of us accompanied a few of the
younger members of BSCES. We worked on putting in the floor molding and
kitchen cabinets. For those of us who could make it, it was a wonderful
experience to see first hand what went into the construction process. It
was also nice to be able to talk with the younger members and hear about
their work experiences.
Since it was such a good experience, we decided to organize
a trip with more student members. This fall, we organized a larger group of
ten student members to work on a project in Braintree MA.
On this trip, we installed “floating floors” and building
decking.
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BBQ &
Softball
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During spring of 2008,
ASCE held its 6th Annual Student/Faculty Softball Game and BBQ.
The purpose of this event was to bring together the entire Civil
Engineering Department for a fun end-of-the-year celebration. It was a
group effort by the entire officers board to put together this event, each
having there own responsibilities they had to fulfill.
The event took
place in early May, at the beginning of Tufts’ reading period, a
three day period when students can study and/or relax before finals.
Planning the event included reserving the field, renting a grill and other
BBQ equipment, obtaining softball equipment, purchasing food and drinks,
and of course, plenty of advertising.
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The game was a
great success with over 40 people in attendance, including students from
all classes, undergraduate and graduate, and the majority of our
professors. An official score was never kept, but it was concluded that the
students beat the faculty…by a lot! It was a fun way to end the
semester and for students to take a break from studying for finals, and in
the case of the professors, making them!
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Presentations
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On Monday, April
29th, 2004, Jenn Edelmann
joined civil engineers to talk about her new life as a member of LeMessurier Consultants. A recent graduate of Tufts
University she was a great resource for students to ask about life as a
tufts student and life as a practicing engineer; the similarities,
differences, her likes and dislikes. She offered advice on how and when to
apply to jobs, things we could do to make our resumes better, etc. It was a
great opportunity to get a glimpse into the world of an engineer.
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On Tuesday,
September 21st, 2004, Yanni Tsipis from Meredith & Grew came to Tufts to give a
presentation on the history of civil engineering in the Boston area. He then incorporated his
work as an engineer at the end of the presentation. He talked about the
details and planning that has to go into placing a building on top of the
central artery. Yanni was a great speaker and we
had a very great time.
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On Monday,
November 8th, 2004, junior and senior civil engineers gathered
to munch on pizza and listen to Ms. Rita Seraderian
talk about her work for the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI). An invigorating
power point presentation highlighted the major accomplishments of this
relatively new technology. Future advancements were also stressed in the
lecture. A brief Q & A followed the entertaining discussion of precast/prestressed concrete. Tufts University
feels very privileged to have had the opportunity to listen to Ms. Seraderian's informative presentation.
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Student Faculty Dinner
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Nearly
60 undergraduates, graduates, and faculty members joined together to
celebrate the second annual Student/Faculty Dinner on Friday November, 17,
2004. The night began with a few minutes of schmoozing and a small ice
breaker activity. Following the ice breaker, dinner was served - rosemary
chicken and rotini pasta, salad, and the highly
coveted mini chocolate chip cannoli. During
dinner a brief presentation was made by the president of our student
chapter.
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The presentation
was followed by the main event of the evening, a tower building
competition. Only with the aid of twenty note cards and paper clips, a
tower was to be built that was a lofty eight inches tall. The tower's load
bearing capacity (the number of textbooks it could hold) and aesthetics
were the main criteria used to judge the competition. Each team was given
15 minutes to complete its structure before being tested. The first
criteria to be judged were aesthetics and prizes were awarded to the most
aesthetically pleasing tower as determined by a vote of all those present
at the dinner. Then came the most anticipated moment of the night - the
loading of the towers!
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As people
gathered around the judging table, the chair of the CEE department gently
loaded each tower until its ultimate demise. In the end, two teams came out
victorious and a sudden death round commenced. To separate these two master
building teams, the two final towers were judged again, this time solely on
aesthetics. In the end, one team came out triumphant and was handsomely
rewarded with candy canes, small toys, and other such nick-knacks. An
enjoyable time was had by all those who participated in the night's
event.
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Kids Day
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Marshmallows and toothpicks! What a great
combination! The 2004 ASCE’s kid’s
day booth was a great success this year thanks to all of the volunteers! We
had so many volunteers; I stopped keeping track of the volunteer schedule.
I was so amazed. Continuing our Tufts tradition, the kids used marshmallows
and toothpicks to build bridges, skyscrapers, animals, and even a ferris wheel! It is always great to combine food with
learning. I would have to say our booth was one of the most popular
(according to inside sources). The kid’s had a great time, and so did
ASCE. I look forward to doing it again this coming year. Thanks for
everyone’s help.
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