- March 15, 2024
- Kimley-Horn Corner
Cultivating Connections: Kimley-Horn’s Commitment to Mentoring the Next Generation
At Kimley-Horn, we are dedicated to recruiting, mentoring, and developing the next generation of professionals and leaders within the industry. To do so, we continually interact and connect with college students across the nation through a variety of outreach, academic, and recruiting initiatives.
Kimley-Horn Hits the Road
This winter, Kimley-Horn employees went on tour visiting college campuses across the country, where they hosted booths at internship and job fairs, meet and greet events, showcases, and career expos—connecting with thousands of students and providing them with information about opportunities at Kimley-Horn.
Classroom Connections: Virginia Tech
In addition to recruiting events, our employees connect with students directly in the classroom. Chris Howell, P.E., Randy Royal, P.E., and Heather Timothy, P.E., are using their design skills and professional experience to help teach the Advanced Land Development Design course at Virginia Tech—a part of the university’s Land Development Design Industry (LDDI) program.
Embodying the Virginia Tech motto, “Ut Prosim” (That I May Serve), Chris, Randy, and Heather are teaching three classes throughout the Spring 2024 semester, covering topics such as due diligence, site layouts, and entitlement processes.
“This is an advanced level course taught by industry professionals and practitioners that focuses on implementing design. Aside from teaching some of the classes, we also counsel, recruit, and prepare these students for a career within the industry.”
Kimley-Horn has been involved with the LDDI program at Virginia Tech since its inception in 2007. Throughout the past 17 years, several of our teammates have taught the Advanced Land Development Design class—some of them, including Chris and Heather, are graduates of Virginia Tech. In fact, more than 150 of our employees are Virginia Tech alumni, and about 75 of them participated in the LDDI program as students.
“The impact Kimley-Horn has on the Virginia Tech LDDI program—and vice versa—is indescribable. Kimley-Horn and the LDDI program are able to continuously challenge each other to be the best version of themselves.”
Classroom Connections: University of Georgia
Charlie Johnson, PLA, and Eric Shade, PLA, LEED AP, landscape architecture graduates from the University of Georgia, have remained connected with UGA’s College of Environment and Design (CED).
The two recently returned to their alma mater to participate in a portfolio review with CED students. Charlie and Eric partnered with UGA’s Professor Jessica Fernandez and other industry professionals to review students’ portfolios and resumes, conduct mock interviews, and provide students with career advice and mentorship.
“We are grateful that the School of Environmental Design allows us the opportunity to serve the next generation of leaders in landscape architecture. We provided students with a safe environment to preview their resumes and portfolios while also allowing them to interact with industry professionals. We hope we made a positive impact by providing helpful feedback and input.”
Throughout the event, Charlie and Eric utilized their design expertise to provide professional feedback on several portfolios and connected with students to help them practice speaking about their work experience through staged interviews.
“We were proud to give back to the program that helped prepare us for our professional careers, and it was wonderful to see so many talented future professionals.”
Community Connections: The Heart of Los Angeles
Our employees are also committed to serving students from underrepresented communities. In December, Shushoma Sravostee, EIT, a civil analyst in our Los Angeles office, was the keynote speaker at the 2024 Heart of Los Angeles’ (HOLA) Winter Reunion. A non-profit college preparatory program, HOLA seeks to “help young people overcome barriers through exceptional, free, integrated programs and personalized guidance in a trusted, nurturing environment.”
During the 2024 annual Winter Reunion, 140 HOLA alumni—now college students—returned to participate in professional development workshops, interview preparation, presentations, and a career fair. All these opportunities were focused on giving the alumni tools to help them excel as first-generation college students.
Shushoma was asked to be the event’s keynote speaker because of her involvement with HOLA over the past 11 years. She spoke on the reunion’s topic, “Build Your Future, Build Yourself,” focusing on the importance of networking to building a professional presence in the industry.
“Throughout my high school and college journey, HOLA provided me with unwavering support. As a first-generation college student, I leaned on the organization to guide me through the college application process. HOLA has been a part of nearly half of my life, and I owe much of my educational and career success to their programs and events. Now, I'm giving back by speaking at the alumni events and volunteering weekly.”
Community Connections: Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Our teammates actively participate with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and demonstrate their commitment in various ways. Some employees had the privilege of attending the 2023 SHPE National Conference last November, while others contribute and connect with SHPE student chapters nationwide.
Recently, Adam Kalson and Edwin Santos, P.E., represented Kimley-Horn at the University of Florida’s (UF) SHPE BBQ with Industry event, where they spoke with students about opportunities at Kimley-Horn, provided them with career advice, and gave them insight into the design and consulting industries.
Kimley-Horn is a corporate sponsor of the UF SHPE chapter, and our employees consistently attend UF SHPE events throughout each semester.
“This event has been a staple of our recruitment efforts at the University of Florida for the last few years, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with UF SHPE!”
Our Commitment to Building the Next Generation
Kimley-Horn is committed to empowering tomorrow’s emerging professionals, and we are excited to continue supporting our employees’ active engagement and outreach efforts.
Interested in joining Kimley-Horn to make an impact? Learn more about our career opportunities here.