Civil Engineering Technology students win national surveying competition

Over the weekend, five students from the Civil Engineering Technology program took home first place in the associate degree division of a national surveying competition set in the shadow of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.  

The 22nd annual National Society of Professional Surveyors and Young Surveyors Network student competition saw participants from 24 different bachelor and associate degree programs across the United States and the Territory of Puerto Rico. Representing NWTC was Civil Engineering students Deegan Kossman, Matheu Pietro, Seth Sanders, Dalton Carrick, and Ethan Karls.  

The competition was a two-day event that consisted of field exercises that challenged the knowledge and skills of every participant. Students used historical equipment to measure distances, angles, and elevations on the National Mall on day one of the competition and participated in a scavenger hunt on day two. To earn enough points to win the associate degree division on day two, the NWTC team logged over 14 miles of walking in 6 hours to locate 27 monuments around the nation’s capital. 

“I’m extremely proud of the hard work these guys put into mastering their skills and competing,” said Mark Kamin, Civil Engineering instructor, and competition team advisor. 

This is not the first time NWTC has done well at the surveying competition. Each year NWTC sends a team to test their surveying knowledge and skills against their peers from different institutions.  

“The competition is a fun way for them to show proficiency in their skills,” said Kamin. “It is a unique opportunity to take a trip to the nation’s capital and do something new with all the material they have invested time learning.”