Happy National Professional Engineers (PE) Day! On August 8, 1907, the first professional engineering license was issued in Wyoming. Today we celebrate with the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) on their Professional Engineers day celebrated annually on the first Wednesday in August to mark the anniversary of the first license ever issued and to celebrate the profession.
This day raises awareness about what it means to be a PE, recognizes licensed PEs, and shows appreciation for the work they do every day. We’d especially like to give a big thank you to our board member PEs!
To celebrate we asked licensed PEs throughout Mississippi to tell us why they chose engineering and / or what being a licensed PE means to them.
Edith Martinez-Guerra, PhD, P.E.
I chose civil engineering because my second grade teacher told me I was going to be one. I continued with environmental engineering in grad school due to my passion for the environment and to bring clean water where needed. As a researcher, being a P.E. is not necessarily a requirement, but I think it is important to bring credibility to my work! Just a personal choice!
Kayra Johnson, P.E., BCEE
I chose engineering my senior year after attending a Women in science and engineering conference. Listening to all the female engineers was very inspiring. After 23 years in the field, I know I made the right decision.
Harry Gong, P.E., F. NSPE
I chose engineering as a profession to not only make a difference in the decisions for society, but to also help shape the future of the profession in the public's eye. Professional licensure is important not only to ensure things are properly designed through support of adequate and acceptable scientific data and calculations, but also in the decision making of what is best for the health, safety, and welfare of the public as a whole.
Stephanie Sago Vivians, P.E.
I chose Civil Engineering because it would give me an opportunity to make a good salary and also give me an opportunity to design infrastructure that would be most beneficial to the world. I have been licensed in Mississippi since 2008 and I also hold licenses in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.
Sarah Tracy, P.E.
Licensure is important to me because it demonstrates competency, high ethical standards, and a commitment to protecting the public.
William "Bill" Mitchell, P.E./ P.S.
Licensure is important to me because it was an early professional goal and it allows me to own and operate an engineering and surveying company. It also carries with it respect and responsibility in the industry.
Dr. Dennis Truax, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE, D.WRE, F.ASCE, F.NSPE
Licensure is required to be in charge of the projects you design. Licensure allows you to call yourself an engineer. Licensure reinforces, every day, that that work I do impacts the health, safety, and welfare of others, and that I have an obligation to do my best in a way that is ethical, professional, and sustainable.
Jessica Headrick-Dilley, P.E.
Licensure is important because it holds engineers accountable for their work and design. A lot of what engineers do, particularly in the civil world, impacts the safety and welfare of the public. I wouldn't feel safe traveling with my family across bridges or a roadway in which there was no way to ensure they were designed to the correct (or any) code or standard.
Patrick M. Martino, P.L.S.
Professional License is important to ensure order in the physical world and land development in our communities from the planning and design of developments and subdivisions, roadways, as well as, individual parcels of land, which assist in ensuring the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the public. I was very fortunate to have Mr. Stenum teach me vital aspects of surveying. If I had to start the profession of land surveying all over again, I would chose to learn to better communicate and interact with the individual land owners, and adjoining land owners, in a more effective manor to help prevent and resolve minor problems before they escalated into hard feelings between neighbors.