As part of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter at Missouri State University, a group of civil engineering undergraduate students put their skills to the test — and shined — at the 2025 Mid-America ASCE Student Symposium.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska-Omaha co-hosted this year’s regional event from April 3-5. Held annually, the symposium offers civil engineering students a platform for hands-on learning, real-world problem solving and friendly competition with peers from across the region.

ASCE has 10 regions comprising 21 student conferences worldwide. Missouri State is part of region 7 with 17 universities. At the symposium, teams compete in events that test engineering, technical and communication skills, creativity and teamwork.

At this year’s event, the MSU ASCE student chapter competed in three team competitions: Steel Bridge, Surveying and 3D Printed Bridge.

According to Dr. Sanjay Tewari, chapter faculty advisor, the students got to explore how teams from different universities approach the same problems and challenges.

“This is a great learning experience for them,” said Tewari, who is also an associate teaching professor in the cooperative engineering program.

Steel Bridge

In this challenge, students had to design, build and test a steel bridge that is a 5:1 scale model of a real-life bridge. Missouri State’s Steel Bridge team earned first place for aesthetics. Team members included:

• Caden Dahl (chapter president for 2024-25, team co-captain)
• Braedan Crocker (team co-captain)
• Anna Lamartina (chapter vice president for 2024-25)
• Joseph Horinek (chapter vice president for 2025-26)
• Dakota Duncan (chapter treasurer for 2024-26)
• Maggie Hotmer (chapter secretary for 2025-26)
• Olivia Alvarez
• Dylan Grossl
• Asher Adams

Dr. Matthew Pierson, professor of cooperative engineering program, and Tewari served as faculty advisors for this team.

Surveying

Led by senior Sydney Bond, Missouri State’s Surveying team placed first in pacing and finding the elevation of an inaccessible point categories, as well as finished fourth overall. This challenge combined computer-based mapping with hands-on fieldwork.

The team faced issues early on such as lacking details about how the competition worked. This limited their preparation, but team members stayed determined. Drawing from what they had learned in surveying, trigonometry and calculus, they found solutions under pressure.

“Being overprepared is always better than being underprepared because you never know what challenges will come your way at the last minute,” said Bond, who is also chapter president for 2025-26. “Knowing how to overcome them can make or break a competition.”

The experience showed the students the value of teamwork and planning.

“With enough planning and coordination, no task is impossible,” she said.

Besides Bond, team members included:

• Adams
• Carly Bruegenhemke
• Owen Cliburn
• Horinek
• Skyler Rosvall

Tewari served as the team’s faculty advisor.

3D Printed Bridge

This challenge required students to design a model bridge that could hold a set load within strict size and height limits. Testing their ability to balance structural integrity with creative design, Missouri State’s 3D Printed Bridge team earned third place overall.

Team members included:

• Duncan (team captain)
• Grossl
• Mekayla Alswager

Dr. Jeffery Thomas, cooperative engineering teaching professor, and Tewari served as the team’s faculty advisors.

Pride in performance

Tewari expressed his pride in the students’ achievements.

“These competitions are not part of any class,” he said. “Students commit months of work, all while balancing full course loads and internships. Kudos to them for earning valuable hands-on and interdisciplinary experience and making some life-long professional and personal connections.”

In addition to competitions, MSU’s ASCE student chapter engages with local civil engineers and professionals on community-focused projects. These include creek cleanups and volunteering at schools to support events like Science Olympiad.

“Through these opportunities, students learn leadership and management skills that are vital for their success in the professional world,” Tewari said.

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