WT Engineering Team to Compete at Nationals of Surveying Contest

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - A trio of West Texas A&M University students from the College of Engineering advanced to nationals in a surveying competition.

Karla Berkshire, a senior civil engineering major from Wichita Falls, Dylan Furman, a senior engineering major from Amarillo, and Kaston Hawkins, a senior civil engineering major from Fredericksburg, won first place at the American Society of Civil Engineers Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute's regional surveying competition.

This is the first time a WT team has won the contest and advanced to the national competition, to be held June 25 to 27 at Fairmont State University in Fairmont, West Virginia.

The contest is held to reinforce the importance of basic surveying principles in all civil engineering projects.

"I'm proud of our ASCE teams," said Dr. Kenneth Leitch, professor of civil engineering. "We consistently have done well since we began competing in 2014, but this is our first top finish in a society-wide competition. We are happy to represent WT and the College of Engineering at a regional and now national level."

Civil engineering is the oldest and broadest engineering discipline, encompassing structural, water resource and environmental, transportation, and geotechnical engineers. WT's civil engineering program is accredited by ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission.

The regional contest, cohosted by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Texas A&M University-Kingsville, was held April 15 to 18 in Corpus Christi.

The WT team outranked competition from such schools as the Texas Tech University, the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, Angelo State University and others.

Such team competition is one way in which WT creates in its students a commitment to being self-reliant, courageous, resourceful and part of something larger than one's self, as laid out in the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which raised more than $200 million dollars, the largest such campaign in Texas Panhandle history.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

Photo: West Texas A&M University survey team members Karla Berkshire, from left, Kaston Hawkins and Dylan Furman will compete June 25 to 27 at the American Society of Civil Engineers Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute's national surveying competition.

-WT-