I am the third child of a middle-class family from the suburbs of Buffalo. My parents have worked hard to give me and my brother and sisters the finest in life — a Bachelor’s degree from a respected university. Both my parents received Masters’ degrees in their respected fields — Education and Criminal Justice. From my early days I have had a great interest in civil infrastructure. I remember my days at the beach with my older brother. He would be building a large sand castle with several turrets, and I would be paving roads and installing a highway system with my hands in the sand. My brother is now an architect, working for Michael Graves at the Princeton campus. I am a soon-to-be civil engineer working towards a hopeful Master’s of Engineering degree from the finest engineering institution in the land — Berkeley. The more things change, the more they stay the same…