While studying at UW-Milwaukee, I thought that joining the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter would just be a fun way to meet other civil engineering students. I never imagined that I would help restart the entire organization post-COVID. I never imagined that it would give me the confidence to launch my own business.
I knew that joining an organization would look good on my resume. I’d join ASCE, be a member, and attend events. Right? I was just excited to learn more about civil engineering outside of my classes. I didn’t expect to take on a leadership position from day one.
What started as imposter syndrome turned into me pouring all my free time into the organization. At the end of it all, I realized the lessons that I learned were far more valuable than I could have imagined.
The Upfront Work
Restarting ASCE was a lot like running a business. Three other students and I had to start the organization from scratch. All the former students involved had graduated. The only resources were the advice of the faculty advisor and the university guide on starting a student organization.
We understood that we had to work with the little info that we had. I think we had low expectations for when we would officially re-launch the organization. For the entire Fall 2022 semester, we focused on setting up systems to get the ball rolling. This took lots of dedication and effort while balancing 15 college credits and everything else in life. There were days that I wanted to give up, but the outcome we envisioned at the start is what kept us showing up every day to achieve our goal. Working together as a team helped me believe that starting ASCE again was possible. This was the first step in my mindset shift.
The setup required by the university rules mimicked the setup of a business. For instance, our “executive board” consisted of my fellow officers and me, who took on leadership positions. Our “shareholder” was our faculty advisor, who had some say in what we did, but let us run the group to our liking. Our “customers” were all the students who attended events. Our “partners” were engineering organizations with which we collaborated. This occurred internally at UWM and externally with Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) and Marquette University.
The Moment Everything Clicked
When I transitioned out of my role as president, I was in my last full-time semester in college. Our first event was held on April 27th, 2023. When about 25 students showed up, that was the turning point for me. I realized that this group, which I loved being a part of, was important to others.
Our hard work not only benefited us but also helped all the other students in my program, from first-semester freshmen to second-semester seniors. It even extended to other non-civil students, like the electrical, mechanical, and industrial engineering students.
From the fall of 2022 to the spring of 2024, I was dedicated to making this organization the best it could be. Our mission was to connect students with professionals through fun events both on and off campus.
Translating ASCE Skills to Launch My Business
When I launched Equation to Action LLC, I wasn’t starting from zero. I had to remind myself that ASCE exposed me to:
Delegating - deciding roles based on needs and interests
Marketing - hanging flyers on campus and running an email group with chapter weekly updates for members
Recordkeeping - tracking our progress through event attendance
Planning - keeping a calendar of important dates and holding office meetings every other week
Recruiting - onboarding three future leaders as I transitioned out of my role as president
Facilitation – connecting students with professionals leading to internships and work experience
The key differences when starting Equation to Action were that I was going in alone, and I had to manage everything else in my life at that point.
This time around, I wanted to build my business with a positive mindset first. I wrote a lot about my success with ASCE and my professional work. Then, I analyzed the areas that I still needed to improve on. Focusing on previous small and measurable successes gave me the confidence to overcome any lingering doubt. I officially launched Equation to Action LLC on December 2nd of 2025.
The Takeaway
Don’t underestimate the power of getting involved in a student organization or club. The organization doesn’t have to be school-related. It can be for anything that you’re interested in. It’s a safe space to experiment, fail, learn, and grow while also building the skills you’ll need for whatever you go on to be in life.
Going into it, you won’t know the outcome. It may be scary, awkward, and a lot of other things, but facing those emotions is how you learn. Whether you like or dislike the specific group, the idea is that active engagement lets you know more about yourself. Self-awareness is the first step to solving any problem that you’ll face.
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