Media Release

Stony Brook University Student Wins PENETRON Contest

USA

As a long-time, primary sponsor of the Stony Brook Civil Engineering Society (SBCES), PENETRON recently inaugurated an essay contest open to the Society’s membership. Kennedy C. Ezumah, a Civil Engineering major at Stony Brook University, submitted an impressive piece, winning the grand prize.

Ezumah recalled in writing, “When my family moved from rural Nigeria to New York City when I was five years old, I was captivated by the wealth of fascinating infrastructure in my new environment, such as underground rail lines, skyscrapers, and suspension bridges.” From that moment on, he wrote, he wanted to go to college and become a civil engineer. “I always had an affinity for using my creativity, together with my knowledge of mathematics and physics, to solve problems around the house.”
 
At Stony Brook University, he expanded his knowledge with coursework in Project Management, Structural Analysis, and Coastal Engineering Design. Ezumah worked for two years as an intern at Freeport Electric. As a CAD draftsman and quality inspector, he helped make critical repairs and design modifications to enable local utility teams to rebuild the electrical grid on Long Island (NY) that was extensively damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
 
In 2015, Ezumah attended Tongji University in Shanhai, China, to participate in the Tongji University International Summer School, a rigorous engineering study abroad internship program. Along with engineering students from the around the globe, he attended lectures by reputed scientists, policy makers, and engineers, and he learned about energy climate change, waste management, and pollution.
 
“The summer program in China gave me a deeper understanding of the complexities of engineering challenges, particularly in the developing world. I hope to use this knowledge in my future work.”
 
 
“What really shines through in Kennedy’s essay is his ambition to bring positive change to his community and use his expertise in civil engineering to promote projects in the developing world,” explains Samantha Revera, one of the PENETRON essay judges. “His sentiment ties in closely with the work that PENETRON has supported through ‘Engineers Without Borders’ over the past 9 years.”
 
The SBCES, a chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE),
helps prepare students for careers in civil engineering through organized events, engineering-oriented internships, and other related projects, such as the new essay contest and the annual Concrete Canoe Contest.

Kennedy C. Ezumah

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