Tom Bruton
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 I
am a senior studying Civil Engineering and Spanish at Iowa State
University in Ames, Iowa. I spent the fall semester of my junior
year taking classes at the Universidad de Extremadura and
completing an internship at CATELSA, S.A. in Cáceres, Spain. I
also participated in a two week study-abroad trip to Peru in
January 2002 through the ISU Honors Program.
When I came to college I chose civil engineering because I
wanted a career that would make a difference. However, I wanted
to learn more than just math and science so I looked into a
second major. I had taken Spanish classes in high school and
knew that knowledge of Spanish is becoming increasingly useful,
so when I heard about Iowa State’s new Languages and Cultures
for Professions (LCP) program, I knew it was for me. The program
allows engineering students to complete a second major in a
foreign language with a slimmed-down curriculum focused on the
more practical aspects of second-language study. During my time
in Spain I took classes that count toward my Spanish major and
interned in the Quality Control department of a manufacturer of
automobile components.
Back at Iowa State I have become active in sharing my
experiences abroad with other engineers. I am the Student
Advisor of the Society of International Engineers, a member of
the TAPA (Talking About Programs Abroad) Team and the ISU
chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW). In the
future I would like to work on environmental engineering
problems in the third world.
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