Do you remember “What you wanted to be when you grew up?” At some point in your mid-to-late high school journey, that question stops being so hypothetical, and you start to be subjected to a flurry of presentations, career counselors, campus visits, and aptitude tests. If you’re fortunate, you might even start an internship or a job shadow. By the time you graduate, you have your sights set on some focused professional pursuit, such as a registered nurse, graphic designer, or forensic investigator.

On the other hand, you could be like I was and have zero idea who or what you wanted to be. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. At various points I had zeroed in on kindergarten teacher and then veterinarian. That’s what an ENFP personality type will get you. Can’t I just do all the things? But eventually, I too was made to take some sort of skills test and one after another had a surprising and consistent result: engineer.

It shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise. Despite a love for creative writing and performing from a young age, my standout academic success has always been in mathematics. But did I actually want to be an engineer? I did have a love for houses, floor plans, and DIY home remodeling.

So, my senior year, I got on a school shuttle heading down to the UNL campus and went through a cattle call of other nerds shuffling through a campus tour, registration, and signing up for classes. But to be honest, I was kind of along for the ride. That is, until we got to the room where we had to actually decide which program to pursue. There were droves of students lined up for the various engineering programs: Electrical, Civil, and Mechanical.

So there I stood, finally faced with an actual decision. And then, as if by divine providence, this old guy shouted at me.

“Where ya headed?”

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I’m not sure what to choose.”

“What do you want to do?” he asked.

“Well, to be honest,” I said sheepishly, “I really just want to design custom houses, but I figured engineering was as close as I could get.”

“Well then,” he said with a certain confidence, “you don’t want those programs. You want to go with Architectural Engineering. Get over here.”

Happy for some direction and a little affirmation, I followed his command and was quickly enrolled in my first semester classes.

Now, I did not know two things: First, I would go on to fail most of those classes due to my party-hardy tendencies that fall. And second, most engineering programs start with the same basic prerequisites for the first few semesters of study.

What I would go on to learn about myself, besides my inability to behave like an independent, responsible adult, is that my interest and ability to form a meaningful bond with most of my professors was not to be taken for granted. So, I decided to transfer up to UNO, where the NU AE program exists in totality – UNL only hosted those generic prereqs. If I were to make meaningful connections within the actual faculty, I would have no time to lose. And after realizing the temptations of the Lincoln campus were too much for me to bear, I tucked tail and retreated back to Bellevue, where I would make a daily commute to UNO.

For someone as multifaceted as I tend to be, the NU AE program proved to be a true renaissance. I soon found myself in classes on topics as varied as soil mechanics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, electrical circuits, steel design, acoustics, and the history of architecture. Not only was my dopamine-fueled pinball of an attention span actively engaged year after year, but I found the calculus and algebra-based equations I used every day kept my math-oriented brain happily challenged and hungry for more.

But as a bonified extrovert, were these personal and solitary epiphanies all there was for me? Decidedly not! It turns out that, more than any other engineering program I have seen, AE is incredibly people-centric. The history, purpose, and evolution of this field is and always will be found in the practice of coordination. What does that mean? Well, architectural engineering is essentially the design of building systems: the foundations, structure, heating, cooling, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, lighting, and acoustics. All of these things need to be very closely coordinated and all of them are typically designed by separate people. Throw in an architect and an interior designer and you have an incredible risk for conflicts and contradictions. Who would be best suited to proactively chase these issues down and talk through them with a teammate? The stereotypical shy, introverted, analytical engineer of the past? No – a new and evolved creature is required. In retrospect, I have never seen a more consistently confident, outspoken, funny, clever, flexible, and talented collection of young people since my years at The Peter Kiewit Institute on UNO’s south campus.

As it enters its 25th year of operation, the AE program couldn’t represent Nebraska values more. The faculty is a close-knit and hard-working crew that drives a high-performing,

Award-winning program with a decidedly hometown, down-to-earth style. It’s a grounded environment that produces world-class results.

Now, research, academic achievement, and strong post-graduate options are all great accolades to add to the list of strengths I’ve already described, but I think it’s obvious that a big consideration of any college program is the ability of its graduates to land a job. But this is yet another facit that makes UN’s AE program stand out against other more historic programs around the country.

You may not know this, but Omaha serves as headquarters to several very large engineering entities. Large firms like DLR Group, HDR, Kiewit, and Leo A Daly were founded right here in Omaha and are all deeply invested in the Nebraska AE program and its students. Add in other building and infrastructure giants like Union Pacific and the Army Corps of Engineer’s Omaha District, one of the largest regional offices for the nation’s engineers, and its no wonder the Nebraska AE program was founded, in part, by its strong industry support. These design groups are often fighting to mentor, intern, and ultimately hire the AE program’s recent grads not only because of their high performance but also because of their ability to communicate, team, and partner.

So what the heck have I been going on about? It’s this: if you have, know, or are a high school junior or graduating senior who doesn’t fit into a nice, neat mathlete box. One who exists in the cross-section of a multi-circled Venn diagram of math, service, collaboration, and innovation. One who loves to solve problems but also loves to connect with and help people. Who does have a natural math talent but has also realized that it is just one of your many tools for a larger purpose, then the University of Nebraska’s Architectural Engineering program is what you’re looking for.

Matt Hebert is an engineer and self-published author. His dopamine-fueled creative pursuits have spanned from chicken keeping, sand sculpture, acting, and public speaking, but writing is nearest and dearest to his heart. He lives in Bellevue with his wife and two daughters. You can find him on Instagram at @jerkofalltradeshebert or email him at matt.hebert.books@gmail.com

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