Kirsty Ferrell

"Know the fundamentals of engineering in your beginning classes."

Kirsty Ferrell spends an average day doing a lot of AutoCAD drafting. The firm she works for specializes in structural design of swimming pools, aquatic facilities and rock formations. This line of work is especially fitting for Ferrell who, in addition to being an engineer, is also an avid swimming enthusiast.

“One of my passions has always been swimming. It was a goal of mine to compete at the collegiate level while I was a young swimmer. It was an amazing experience being able to go to BYU and compete on their Swim and Dive team.”

Now, working as a civil engineer in California, Ferrell enjoys surfing, wakeboarding, and staying active. Ferrell’s advice to students was to master the basics of engineering early on in the program.

“Obviously your study habits will improve and be more effective as you go through school,” Ferrell said, “but I feel that to know statics, dynamics, materials and AutoCAD better would have improved my later years in Civil Engineering. I knew them while I was a freshman but not as good as I needed to when I was a senior and in grad school. I feel that if you keep improving those basic skills, you will have a good grasp on any concept that you encounter later on in your engineering degree.

“I also wish I would have realized that in the end everything worked out exactly how it was supposed to. It was interesting to realize that my grades always turned out better than I thought they were going to, and all the stress I placed on myself was not needed!”