Mikhail Thomas ’16, BSCE, is currently a bridge design engineer for the State of Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT). Thomas previously worked as a construction inspector for three years with the company. As an alumnus, he made a strong connection with UHart when he chose to attend the University nearly a decade ago. “I saw UHart as a partner in my future, investing in my potential while helping alleviate barriers such as finances,” he says.
Thomas credits the University for giving him many opportunities to grow personally and professionally. “I was able to experience balancing many responsibilities while maintaining valuable social connections that are still currently evolving,” he says. “I am very grateful for having access to professors and other administrative leaders who were essential for academic understanding and professional guidance.” Thomas is now continuing his education as a graduate student in the E2M program, pursuing both an MEng degree in structural engineering and MBA.
Thomas found a passion for the service industry as a student here. He was involved as a teacher’s assistant, resident assistant, and member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) UHart chapter. Since graduating, he knew he wanted to continue working in the service industry because of the impact it made on his professional development. Through his involvement at the University, Thomas built the necessary skills to communicate and interact with diverse individuals and “appreciate each’s unique contribution to our society.” He found these skills to be easily transferable to the wider professional environment and has led to his successful career path at ConnDOT. Thomas has paid it forward by returning to campus to meet with current students at career-readiness events to discuss their career goals, skills, and talents; and how these attributes could translate to being successful on the job regardless of major or concentration.
When describing his day-to-day work, Thomas says he can be found tackling a great number of tasks. For example, once bridges have been inspected, it often becomes his responsibility to evaluate these bridges and provide a numerical score that can be used to determine the scope of repairs that may or may not be needed—a process called “load rating,” he says. This responsibility often presents itself when there is a new bridge project or when federal guidelines mandate.
Mikhail Thomas ’16, BSCEI am most inspired by having a hand in overseeing some of our most basic infrastructure we often take for granted but is absolutely essential to our lives. I take great pride in striving to ensure this infrastructure functions the way we expect, while utilizing new cost-effective emerging technologies to keep Connecticut on the cutting edge of bridge design, all in an effort to assist our Department of Transportation in revamping our aging infrastructure.
Thomas also has a hand in designing bridge components and developing concepts for bridge designs based on physical and community constraints. Once a preliminary concept has been determined, he is then responsible for designing each bridge component to comply with state and federal engineering codes and specifications.
Thomas also has the opportunity to meet with councils of government or the public at large to present design intentions and receive community feedback that is crucial for settling upon optimum structural design and construction sequencing. Finally, he also has the opportunity to review contractor documents for compliance with all contract documents and specifications to ensure that structures are built as closely as possible to their intended design.
Taking full advantage of his undergraduate education here at UHart, Thomas is still applying much of what he learned to his job every day. He encourages students to continue working diligently within their majors and areas because they will have a unique opportunity to learn skills here at UHart that they may not anywhere else.