Interview with Andrea Tavera: Recipient of Outstanding Student Water Research Poster Award

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Andrea Tavera, who earned a master's degree in civil engineering in December 2021, was recognized at the Oklahoma Governor's Water Conference and Research Symposium Outstanding Student Water Research Poster. Her winning poster was titled "Evolution of Low Impact Development Stormwater Control Systems for Runoff Peak Flow Reduction."   

Following is her story and path to an advanced degree in engineering.

When did your journey at OU begin?
I'm from Colombia. I first came to OU as an exchange student for a semester in 2018. I developed such strong relationships with professors and students that I returned in 2019 to earn my master’s in civil engineering with an emphasis on water resources. I graduated in 2021. 

Of course, those relationships were only the cherry on top of how amazing OU is as a university; the people, the events, the campus, the opportunities, the student associations, the squirrels ... there’s nothing quite like it anywhere else.

What was it like earning your advanced degree?
While getting my master’s degree, I built new amazing relationships with my coworkers, other students and professors, particularly with my thesis committee members. It’s because of what I learned from them that I am the woman I am today, and why I am where I am today, working for a top engineering company in the United States. Little 18-year-old Andrea in Colombia would have never believed such things were possible. 
 
Where are you now?
I am now living in Denver, Colorado, and I work as a junior water resources engineer for Jacobs Engineering Inc., a multinational engineering company with over 40,000 employees in the U.S. and a great number of offices around the world. I would like to work more in areas related to green infrastructure though! As the work I did for my thesis is really where my passion lies.


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