Construction engineer ’proud’ of BOLD 10 Under 10 alumni award

As part of its annual Homecoming activities, Binghamton University honors alumni who have graduated within the last 10 years, demonstrated a very high level of career achievement since leaving campus, and show great potential for future leadership.

Three of this year’s BOLD (Bearcats of the Last Decade) 10 Under 10 Award winners are alumni of the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science. We asked them to tell us how Watson influenced their career paths.

Christina Arbor ’12 earned her BS in mechanical engineering with a concentration in sustainable engineering. As a student, she was chapter vice president for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and an LGBTQ activist. She also worked with a team of engineering students on the Honduras Project, which included the design and construction of a potable water and gray-water system for more than 100 people in a rural community and generated $10,000 in outside donations from project sponsors.

After graduating in 2012, Arbor began working as a field engineer at Turner Construction Company in New York. In her career at Turner, she has worked on projects in the city totaling more than $2 billion in revenue. Her roles have included superintendent, cost analyst, architectural engineer and estimator. Notable projects include the New York Police Academy, Columbia University Business School and New York-Presbyterian David H. Koch Center.

In addition to her project roles, Arbor has worked to build Turner’s relationship with the SHPE-NYC professional and college chapters to increase diverse recruiting and professional development opportunities for employees. When she learned that Turner did not recruit at Binghamton, she took active steps to recruit by overseeing project tours for Binghamton students and by participating in alumni events. She co-founded and led Turner Construction’s first Hispanic/Latinx employee resource group for four years and oversaw more than 50 initiatives in that time, focused on recruitment, professional development, retention, business development, community service and networking.

She was selected to develop and manage Turner’s HI-RISE Internship program for the NYC Small Business Services Anchor Initiative focused on reviving the city’s local and diverse businesses and supporting disadvantaged communities. The program successfully exposed a group of 12 diverse high school interns to career experiences with architecture, engineering, construction management and the trades. With her recent move to Turner’s Connecticut business unit, she has continued her career growth as a professional in addition to becoming the SHPE-CT chapter president.

What is it like receiving an award like this?

I feel proud to receive this recognition from my alma mater. As someone who has been very devoted to helping others, advocating and mentoring, it feels very supportive to receive recognition and appreciation for it. It helps me know that I have been successful in making an impact and it fuels my passion to continue.

How do you think your time at Watson set you up for success?

Working with and learning from people of different backgrounds. I remember having professors who spoke with accents, and there was a point when an engineering professor addressed some of the students’ complaints about it. He shared with us that in our industry we have to learn how to communicate, learn from and work with many people from different backgrounds. For some of them, English would not be their first language. They already had done the hard work of learning an additional language, and now it was our job to train our ears and learn to listen and hear them. That is something that has stuck with me as a professional skill and a lesson I have shared with others many times.

Which Watson class or professor changed the way you thought about your area of study?

Professor Raymond Barnes, Professor Daryl Santos and the sustainable engineering courses with Professor Roy McGrann.

What are some of your favorite memories from your time at Binghamton?

Meeting my wife, of course, and building lifelong friendships.

What advice would you give to current Watson students?

Join a professional chapter such as SHPE, the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers or Engineers Without Borders and be actively involved in a leadership role. There are many student groups or organizations to be involved with, so be as active as you can and meet as many people as you can.

Also, attend office hours and work to develop professional relationships with your professors. They are very interesting people and you can learn a lot from them.