As a Southern California native, Byron Godoy does a lot of surfing and snowboards as often as he can, but those extracurricular activities are just for fun. Byron's competitive side comes out when he's engineering—at least it did during a recent event for engineers in Reno, Nevada.
Byron and his California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) classmates participated in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Regions 6 & 7 Student Competition and Construction Management Conference. This two-day intensive gives teams real world projects to tackle and asks them to present their problem-solving techniques. Byron's squad was tasked with figuring out how to excavate and install high-efficiency reservoir tanks for car washes and given only 24 hours to prepare their presentation.
While results from this year's competition have not yet been awarded, Byron also participated in the National Electrical Contractors Association for the Green Building Initiative in 2018 and 2019—and his team won first place for both! So the odds are good that another gold medal is in his future.
Byron is a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity at CSULB, majoring in construction engineering management, and was able to start as an intern on the Project last month. Like many locals, he was familiar with the original Sixth Street Bridge, but became aware of the demolition and replacement from Mayor Eric Garcetti's viral "Slow Jam" video about the closure of the 101 Freeway.
Byron's father first introduced him to the construction field. His dad was in the industry for 25 years doing seismic retrofitting for commercial buildings and residential properties. From this experience, Byron decided that he wanted to pursue construction management. He hopes to participate in other bridge construction like this, as well as highway, transportation and heavy civil engineering projects.
As an intern, Byron is learning the importance of strong communication abilities and building relationships. These are skills best developed on the job, so Byron recommends that anyone interested in pursuing an engineering career visit a construction site, if possible, and look for opportunities to get on the ground. "Don't wait," he says. "Start now."
