Civil Engineering Institute Chair Living Her Dream as Mentor to Students
W
hen civil engineering
Cristei, director of design at EXP,
Cristei was growing
Institute (CEI) board and a CEIE
alumna Cerasela
up in Romania, she considered becoming a professional
ballet dancer like her mother,
is chair of the Civil Engineering adjunct professor in charge of the senior design class.
father, and sister—or a teacher
Her goal with the board is to
love to instruct and mentor
that promote the civil engineering
because she thought she would younger people.
“My path to civil engineering was sinuous because I was born in
a family of artists and imagined I would follow that path,” says
Cristei, MS Civil and Infrastructure
engage members in activities
department as well as attract new members. And she wants to work with the department’s faculty to make sure graduates possess
the skills and knowledge they will need to launch into their jobs.
Engineering ’05, PhD Civil and
Cristei teaches a three-hour
But her grand jeté landed her in
every week. She guides teams
Infrastructure Engineering ’10.
a different career. “I was good at
math and physics so engineering was the right field for me.”
She immigrated to the United States in 1996 at age 31 with a five-year degree in civil
senior design class for CEIE of students as they develop
solutions for a transportation
problem in the area. This year,
the students proposed options to replace a one-lane bridge in an increasingly congested area.
engineering. She enrolled at
She wants students to be
and later a PhD in civil and
skills. “With some, I encourage
Mason to earn a MS degree infrastructure engineering from the Sid and Reva
Dewberry Department of Civil,
Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering (CEIE).
successful and stretch their them saying, ‘Can you do
better?’ That’s going to help
them because that’s what we
“The best civil engineering
students are the ones who take
ownership of their projects, who learn the scope of the project, the standards that apply, and who constantly ask questions
about how to do things better,” she says.
As she suspected long ago, Cristei loves teaching.
“
It’s unbelievable how happy I am and how much energy I have after I teach the classes. My husband said to me, ‘You enjoy teaching’ and I do. g
”
do in industry. The first solution you come up with is not always the best.
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