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American Society of Civil Engineers - ASCE
Engineers Without Borders
Dear Carroll College Engineering Alumni and Supporters:
Our third issue of the Civil Engineering Newsletter highlights the hands-on experiences shaping our students into future engineering leaders. Our senior design students started the spring semester with a field visit to an abandoned mine site in Reno, NV, tackling environmental challenges through real-world project design.
Meanwhile, the ASCE Student Chapter has been working hard preparing for the annual Student Symposium, including the much-anticipated concrete canoe competition. Our Engineers Without Borders chapter continues to make a global impact, with students strengthening school buildings in Guatemala (January 2025) and improving sanitation systems in Uganda (June 2024). Both teams aim to travel again in 2026 and are actively working on fundraising and project management.
Our civil engineering program had a reaccreditation visit from the accrediting agency ABET in September of 2024. We will hear the formal results of the visit in August of 2025. Early indications are that the visit went well. Additionally, we are modifying our curriculum to better reflect faculty expertise and changing student interests. One of the most exciting developments is growth in our geotechnical engineering course offerings. Read on to learn more about the adventures and achievements of our students and faculty! If you’re an alum, don’t forget to tell us about your achievements – we’re seeking to highlight your successes on our website!
~ Dr. Shaye Bodine
Engineering Curriculum Updates
After the September 2024 ABET reaccreditation visit, the faculty worked on updating the civil engineering curriculum. Our program will transition from the current to the new curriculum over the 2025-2026 school year. The revitalized curriculum will benefit all current sophomores, freshmen, and incoming students.
Over the last decade, students selected between two emphases: Broadfield and Environmental. The number of students choosing the Environmental Emphasis has been decreasing for several years. The last students to graduate with the emphasis graduated in the spring of 2023. In response, we are acting to consolidate and strengthen course offerings while retaining some student choice.
Further, we wanted to better use the specialties of our newer faculty members (Dr. Recep Birgul, Dr. Shaye Bodine, and Dr. Ron Breitmeyer). Our accrediting agency, ABET, requires that the students can solve complex engineering problems in four subfields of civil engineering. Our new curriculum will provide training in the subfields of structural engineering, water resources, and geotechnical engineering for all students. We are adding two new upper-division courses to support the development of the geotechnical engineering subfield. Students will select their fourth subfield as either transportation or environmental engineering.
Additionally, the Department of Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science, and Data Science will offer a new major beginning Fall 2025: Cybersecurity. We can do this by utilizing a consortium agreement through Rize Education. Within this new major, four courses from Rize Education will be required with all other requirements offered by Carroll. Combined, programmatic, and departmental curriculum changes reflect our enthusiasm for staying adaptive and relevant to best serve the current generation of students.
~ Dr. Mary Keeffe
Senior Design Course – Grant & Travel to Reno
The Civil Engineering Senior Design course, taught by Associate Professor Dr. Ron Breitmeyer, traveled to Reno, NV, during the first week of classes this spring. The trip is funded through a grant secured by Dr. Breitmeyer from the Bureau of Land Management as part of a cooperative agreement that the senior design course instructor, Dr. Breitmeyer, has been involved with over the past 10 years. This project is addressing a significant environmental issue while giving our students real-world, applied engineering experience. The designs produced during the course will be presented to BLM and will likely serve as the basis for the final remedy to be implemented over the next few years. We’re very thankful for Dr. Breitmeyer’s efforts in this project!
"It was rewarding to be able to see the actual site that we are making designs for. By seeing the site, we are now able to better understand the real-world applications of our classes and have a reference to create our designs off of. Being able to work with professors at a different university gives us experience that we will be able to use in our future jobs to better communicate and work with individuals who we are not with every day." ~ Bryan Holland, Civil Engineering, Butte, MT
The purpose of the trip was to visit an abandoned mine site that is at the center of their year-long senior design project. The students, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno, and the Bureau of Land Management are preparing an engineering plan for the final closure of the Perry Canyon abandoned mine site. This plan will include the design of access and haul roads, containment system construction for acid-generating waste rock facilities, and restoration and protection of a stream bed.
"Before the trip, I assumed culverts would be necessary to restore the roads. However, after seeing how quickly the creek changes course due to ice jams, I realized culverts may not be applicable. This observation highlighted the importance of a site visit in fully understanding the project's challenges and requirements." ~ Thomas Klepps, Civil Engineering, Billings, MT
The site visit is a critical part of engineering work so that the engineers have a clear picture of the environmental challenges and limitations they must consider during their design. The students also had the opportunity to visit a manufacturing facility for geosynthetics which they will likely incorporate into their design, as well as visit with project partners at the University of Nevada.
~ Dr. Ron Breitmeyer
Student ASCE Chapter
The Carroll College American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Chapter has experienced an exciting, challenging, and promising year thus far. In anticipation of the annual Student Symposium in April, we are building a concrete canoe, and our premier mix design, building methods, and finishing procedure have been closely followed. We will proudly present and race our concrete canoe, Steamboat Willie. The experience is sure to promote knowledge of the civil engineering field, connection with local and regional professionals, and camaraderie with fellow students!
Here are a few bullet points of what we’ve been doing this school year:
- Pizza dinner and student chapter introduction meeting
- Second Annual Cornhole Tournament raised over $3,000 (Our next cornhole tournament will be September 12, 2025! Please reach out to smetzger01@carroll.edu, if you’d like to participate!)
- Collaborated with Carroll’s Engineers Without Borders Student Chapter in the construction of a demonstration cinderblock wall
- Workshop for Student Chapter Leaders in San Diego attended by student members Liberty Evans and Joselyn Riesner
- Concrete Canoe poured and placed to cure
- Presentation given at the local Helena Engineers Club in March
The student members are excited for the upcoming Concrete Canoe race! We plan to have a complete team of four men, four women, and one faculty advisor attend the symposium this year. After the symposium, we are looking forward to the extra time that we will utilize to deliver more resources and experiences to our student members. Student leadership is currently working on welcoming a local engineer from the Helena area to present their line of work and experience at a weekly evening meeting. Student leaders are also brainstorming spring semester fundraising events that could bolster our budget. The 2026 Student Symposium is scheduled to take place in Alaska and we are hoping to compete!
Engineers Without Borders Update
The Carroll College Chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB) is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people in developing communities worldwide through sustainable community development projects and preparing future leaders who are well equipped to solve the world's most pressing problems. Take a few moments to get an update on what our EWB students have been up to!
EWB – Guatemala
The Saints' EWB Guatemala team traveled to Santo Tomás La Unión from January 2-8, 2025. The team worked with community partners to build two structural walls inside an existing school building in a region prone to frequent earthquakes. The multi-year project aims to strengthen the campus's structural resilience by constructing additional walls and columns in several buildings.
The project team consisted of a Faculty Advisor, two Engineering students, one Chemistry student, one Business student, two Nursing students, and one Professional Engineer from Morrison-Maierle. Many, many thanks to Morley Mathewson from M-M for all of your efforts before & during travel!
"This experience was incredible. The people we got to know and work alongside were so kind and welcoming. Though there was a language barrier we found ways to communicate with each other that allowed us to connect and work collaboratively. As someone who is not an engineering major, I really enjoyed learning about the process of structural wall construction and actively participating in the implementation of a project. Learning all the skills involved in this project from people so willing to teach was one of my favorite parts. This trip is something I will remember fondly and will forever be grateful for the opportunity to be part of." ~ Emilie Turpen, Senior, Nursing
Working in partnership with local craftsmen, students rolled up their sleeves to mix concrete by-hand and place hundreds of CMU blocks. Our students displayed professionalism, cultural sensitivity, incredible work ethic, and a deep compassion for others. Building off a fifteen-year collaboration between Carroll College, the Diocese of Helena, and the Centro Educativo Santiago de la Asunción, future trips will include implementing more structural walls and continued monitoring and evaluation.
“One of the most valuable lessons from this experience is learning that the way we typically do things isn’t always the only or the ‘right’ way. This trip encourages an open-minded perspective, showing how diverse approaches can be just as effective, if not more so, when working on solutions. By the end of the trip, you leave behind not only a completed project that everyone can be proud of but also a lasting impression of teamwork, cultural respect, and mutual accomplishment.” ~ Audrey Narum, Senior, Nursing
EWB – Uganda
The Carroll College student chapter of Engineers Without Borders sent a team of five students and two mentors to Uganda from May 26 to June 8, 2024. Their mission was to enhance the sanitation system at Holy Trinity Senior Secondary School in the village of Kawango. The initial phase of this project involved installing tanks to collect rainwater runoff from the roofs of school buildings, providing a supplementary water source for washing and toilets. The team also collaborated with the local contractor, Hydro Concepts Uganda Ltd, to discuss plans for the next phase of the project, which involves upgrading the school’s existing latrine and shower facilities.
During their stay, the Carroll students engaged in a Q&A session with Holy Trinity students, discussing their college majors and future career plans. They also trained the students in proper hygiene protocols and techniques for cleaning the jerry cans used for water storage. At the end of the team's visit, the school celebrated with a festive Mass and a ceremony to mark the official opening of Holy Trinity’s new “St. Helena Girls’ Dormitory,” funded by The Julius Foundation, a charitable organization supported by local Helena residents.
The EWB team was grateful to receive a $1,000 award from EWB-USA's Impact Fund to support their work on this trip. This grant was one of 30 awarded from a pool of 126 applications!
Saints Giving Day
March 20–21, 2025, Noon to Noon
Our engineering student chapters are run exclusively by student volunteers, overseen by faculty volunteers, and are only made possible by generous gifts from sponsors like you!
To support our EWB and ASCE student chapters, please give through one of these options:
- Saints Giving Day 24-hour campaign on March 20-21: Saints Giving Day Page
Please select the student chapter you’d like to donate to during checkout:
Engineers Without Borders
American Society of Civil Engineers - ASCE
- Give Now Anytime: Online Giving Form
- Or contact the Office of Institutional of Advancement, at advancement@carroll.edu or 406-447-4491.
Alumni Stories Wanted!
A few Carroll Engineering alumni are featured on our website, and we would love to add to the success stories! Here’s a link to the current engineering alumni webpage.
We would love to hear what you have been up to since graduating from Carroll College! Please take a few minutes to fill out the following survey if you’d like. Faculty will look through submissions and add a selection to our alumni website.
Survey Link: Please click here to let us know what you have been doing since graduation!
We hope this newsletter from Carroll Engineering gave you a glimpse of what is happening in our world. Have a great week!
~ Carroll Engineering Department
Dr. Mary Keeffe, Dr. Tony Szpilka, Dr. Shaye Bodine, Dr. Recep Birgul, Dr. Ron Breitmeyer, and Asst. Stephanie Metzger