Fictional interviewer written for this sample; the employers are invented.

Carol Whitcombe (she/her)

Principal Engineer, Cold Regions Infrastructure at Boreal Bridge & Structure Consultants · MIT Educational Counselor

Saint Paul, Minnesota

About

I design and inspect bridges and culverts that have to survive Minnesota winters, which mostly means thinking about water, ice and what happens when they move. I spent my early career in labs measuring how concrete cracks under freeze-thaw cycles, and I still get excited by a well-planned field measurement. Since 2009 I've interviewed applicants across northern Minnesota as an MIT Educational Counselor. I love hearing what students have built, broken and figured out on their own. I care about making sure a kid from a small town or a first-generation family knows MIT is a real option.

Experience

Boreal Bridge & Structure Consultants (Saint Paul, MN) - Principal Engineer, Cold Regions Infrastructure, 2016 - present - Lead a team of 8 engineers on bridge inspection and rehabilitation for counties and tribal nations. - Developed a field program using embedded temperature sensors to track ice loading on bridge piers.

Northline Materials Testing (Minneapolis, MN) - Senior Materials Engineer, 2005 - 2016 - Ran freeze-thaw and durability testing for highway concrete; authored 14 technical reports for state agencies.

Kestrel Civil Group (Boston, MA) - Staff Engineer, 2000 - 2005 - Structural design for transit and harbor projects.

MIT Educational Council - Educational Counselor, northern Minnesota, 2009 - present - Interview 10-15 applicants a year; host an admitted-student send-off each summer.

Education

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology - S.B., Civil and Environmental Engineering (Course 1), 1998. UROP in a cement and concrete lab; rowed on the women's lightweight crew.
• University of Minnesota - M.S., Civil Engineering, 2000.

Licenses

Professional Engineer (PE), Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Volunteering

• Judge, Northeast Minnesota Regional Science Fair, engineering category (2012 - present)
• Mentor, a FIRST LEGO League team at a Saint Paul public library (2018 - 2023)

Interests

Cross-country ski racing (the Birkebeiner, eleven times), canoeing the Boundary Waters, old bridges, and mystery novels set in cold places.