On November 8th, the School of Engineering celebrated the 2023 Hard Hat Ceremony and Senior Design Poster Exhibition in Heritage Hall. Forty-eight freshmen in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering were welcomed into the field, and received a Catholic University hard hat and safety vest. University Chaplain and Vice President of Ministry and Mission, Rev. Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P. blessed the hard hats with holy water as a symbol of the divine protection that these items offer and represent. 
In conjunction with the Hard Hat Ceremony, sixty seniors in the School of Engineering had the opportunity to present their senior design projects during the Senior Design Night Poster Exhibition. This was a chance for them to share the work they have done thus far on their senior projects, with family, friends, and faculty. In addition, School of Engineering alumni and the representatives of a number of companies were also present, offering industry insight and networking opportunities to the students.
Dean John Judge offered some remarks at the ceremony, cordially welcoming the new students into the School of Engineering and the engineering community in general. In addition, Ryan Knox (photographed on the left)—a project executive at Clark Construction, overseeing the construction of the new Conway School of Nursing building—also gave remarks, speaking about the joys that come with working in civil engineering. Alluding to his career and most recent work here at The Catholic University of America, Knox discussed how construction projects offer a sense of permanence and continuity. Structures are built to withstand the test of time, in order to continually offer the service that inspired their construction; leaving a lasting impact on the lives of individuals and the greater community that ultimately interact with these structures and the mission they represent.
It was a wonderful evening, celebrating the arrival of our newest members to the engineering community, and the accomplishments of those who will be graduating in the spring; soon entering the field, prepared to apply all they have learned here in their future careers.
For more information on the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, please visit the following link: https://engineering.catholic.edu/civil/index.html