Short Feature with Women's Soccer Senior Sarah Mahler

Senior Sarah Mahler, a civil engineering major from Cincinnati, Ohio, answers a few questions about student life at Carnegie Mellon, how her internships have shaped her decisions, why she chose her major, and what she enjoys about Pittsburgh.

1. What do you enjoy about campus life?

I love the diversity on campus. Coming from a small town, I was never exposed to a wide variety of culture so being on campus surrounded by people from all over the world with different passions is awesome. I'd say for sure that the people at this school are what I most enjoy about CMU and campus life. This is one of the last times where we'll be around this many people our age and in similar stages of life so I've enjoyed the opportunities to meet so many amazing and talented individuals that I'm able to spend time with on campus.

2. What do you get involved in outside of soccer?

I've been involved in Plaidvocates for the past two years while being the events chair this past year. I've loved being a part of this org because I'm really passionate about mental health and well-being and it's just another way to stay active within the athletic community. I've also been the communications chair for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) these past two years, which has been an awesome experience being able to grow professionally and get to know my colleagues and professors. It's allowed me to explore and learn about the different opportunities within civil engineering. I've also been involved in several Christian organizations over my past four years, which has helped me meet a lot of people I wouldn't have otherwise come across including other students from Pitt.

3. Tell us about your internship experience.

Last summer I was a project engineering intern at PJ Dick and worked on site at the new Tepper Quad here on campus. I primarily worked on preparing calculations of materials from all of the architectural drawings as well as completing in-wall inspections and making sure everything was in place and correctly constructed before the walls were closed off. I also supervised tracking and completion of non-conformance and field reports, so basically whenever there was an error in construction I would go around the site and report them and made sure they were fixed. Lastly, I did a lot of communicating with the contractors on site in terms of maintaining and staying on schedule. This summer, I'm currently in Dublin, Ireland, for an internship with a structural engineering firm called Greg Daly Consulting. Here I'm expecting to do more 2D modeling and drafting/editing technical documents and reports for connection and structural members.

4. How did your internship(s) help form your career decision?

I gained a lot of experience from my internship on the Tepper Quad last summer in terms of learning a lot about the construction process. I really enjoyed being on site especially for a building that has a direct impact on my campus. I did realize, however, that construction management isn't the path I want to take in civil engineering and would prefer a job where I get to do more engineering rather than overseeing it and completing a lot of the logistical tasks that are involved in the building process. I'm excited for this summer because it should help me get a better sense of what structural engineering consists of in practice rather than just in the classroom. Going forward this should help me decide whether getting a masters in structural engineering is in my future, and meanwhile, I am returning this fall for my final semester to finish my undergraduate degree.

5. Since you'll be returning to campus, what are you excited for this semester?

This last semester, I'm really looking forward to enjoying fall in Pittsburgh without the added time commitment of soccer. Because I'm going into my fifth year, I've already used up my eligibility so it will be a nice change of perspective being able to go to games as a fan and use my free time to explore Pittsburgh and invest in friendships outside of the athletic community. And of course I'm looking forward to finishing my last semester of undergrad and start figuring out the next steps of my career/education.

6. Why did you select your course of study – what class have you enjoyed the most?

I originally majored in architecture for a full year before switching to civil engineering. I made the switch because I was looking for a more objective discipline that focused less on aesthetic design while still focusing on infrastructure and the built environment. I'm also majoring in psychology because I've always been really interested in mental health and understanding the more social aspects of how people function and interact with others. A lot of people ask why I'm in two very different majors, but I think learning about psychology is useful for almost any field because it involves understanding people's behaviors and motivations which will arise whenever you're working with other people. It's also nice to switch gears from the mathematical and logical thought process in engineering to the thoughtful and experimental nature of psychology. In terms of favorite classes, in civil engineering I enjoyed my structural design class and in psychology I really liked child psychopathology and treatment.

7. What class would you recommended as a MUST TAKE class at CMU?

Nearly everyone is required to take some sort of programming class here so I took 110 which was interesting because I had no experience in programming. It was definitely cool and challenging and worth trying even if you find that you don't want to pursue it further. A class that I would recommend taking is Theme Park Design because it's a pretty laid back class but it's also a really interdisciplinary topic. I thought learning about the entertainment industry was really interesting and unlike any other class I've taken here.

8. What have you enjoyed about living in Pittsburgh?

I love the size of Pittsburgh. It's big enough to explore but not so big that it's overwhelming. There's also so much to do and so many different restaurants to try, and there are several cool parks nearby for when you want to get away from the urban setting. And obviously Pittsburgh is a big sports city, which makes for a cool atmosphere. Another aspect that I enjoy is how close CMU is to the University of Pittsburgh and I've made a lot of friends from Pitt, too, which has been a nice way to extend myself outside of CMU's campus.

9. What has been a memorable moment so far during your time on the team?

The most memorable moments were winning our first UAA championship and then beating WashU this year. Also my sophomore season we somehow found ourselves in single or double overtimes a lot so rushing the field at the end of a game-winning goal is one of the coolest experiences that I'll definitely remember years later.