Forging Future Leaders: Kimley-Horn’s Commitment to the Engineers of Tomorrow

In August, Kimley-Horn launched our first-ever Future Leaders Forum, a leadership and professional development experience piloted in Orlando, Florida, that brought together more than 60 engineering students from across the East Coast for a day-and-a-half program. Designed for rising sophomores and juniors, the goal of the Forum was to help students better understand engineering and the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, learn about the impactful work our engineers do, and leave with leadership insights they can carry forward.

The students who joined us came from universities including University of Florida, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina State University, and many were already leading on their own campuses as officers in organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and local American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) student chapters. Participants represented 27 universities across the East Coast, bringing together a diverse group of emerging leaders who were actively engaged on their campuses through engineering organizations, student leadership roles, professional societies, and other extracurricular involvement.

Consulting Skills in Action

Because the first years of college are spent building a foundation in engineering fundamentals, our professionals and senior leaders focused on showing students how that foundation translates to real work. They shared what their day-to-day actually looks like across development services, transportation, roadway, surface water, water/wastewater, and more, giving students a clearer sense of where their coursework can lead.

Students then followed a real project through its full life cycle, from the first client conversation through implementation, and saw firsthand what it takes to deliver a project, from scope and schedule to community impact. Along the way, they explored the shift from a technical mindset to a consulting mindset, moving beyond simply completing tasks to understanding the “why” behind client needs and decisions.

The focus then turned to their own careers. Students learned how to build a personal brand and learned tips and tricks to prepare for interviews and bolster their resumes. They also had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion with Kimley-Horn’s recruiting team, where they asked the panel candid questions about applying, interviewing, and standing out as a candidate.

Developing Future Leaders

Developing the next generation of our industry is part of our foundation. More than 1,200 interns joined us this past summer through our internship program, which has been named by Yello as a Top Internship Program. But the Future Leaders Forum reaches well beyond our own firm. As a member of the AEC industry, we believe investing early in students matters, because they will go on to shape the future of our communities and infrastructure. The Forum gave us a way to build stronger relationships with top student talent across the East Coast long before they step into the industry as full-time professionals. From students to senior leaders, we support continuous growth through a wide range of hands-on programs that build technical knowledge, consulting capabilities, and leadership skills.

After a successful pilot, we are already looking at how to grow the Future Leaders Forum and welcome even more future leaders in the years ahead.

Want to join a firm that invests in the next generation from day one? Click here to learn more.