During my third year at Minnesota State University, Mankato I decided to join the board for American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on campus. I had been attending the general meetings since freshman year but wanted to take on a more active role as an upperclassman in the professional society. My role as a secretary includes taking board meetings notes, keeping attendance, reserving rooms for meetings, and recording all events. I attend bi-weekly board meetings, monthly general chapter meetings, career events, and volunteer opportunities. In addition to these things, I assist the president and vice president with whatever they may need, such as reaching out to professionals to speak at monthly general chapter meetings and presenting on behalf of the society at public events. I particularly enjoy my role in this society because of how well the board members complete their duties separately, but also as a unit.

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My experience as the secretary of ASCE satisfies Teams 1 and 2.

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There are a variety of board positions that are each responsible for certain tasks throughout the semester. The president has the most demanding role as he facilitates our schedule of meetings and events each semester and makes sure we are all on track to complete our separate duties. The vice president assists him in this, and they both fill in for members of the board who need help completing their duties. While president, vice president, and secretary look after the entire chapter functions, the other board positions focus on completing more specific tasks. Other positions include treasurer, underclassmen representative, and activities coordinator, to name a few. Their tasks are as their name implies and mainly focus on one or two specific roles in the society.

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Although there is a hierarchy within the society, we do not treat it as such. Each person is expected to complete their own duties, but often we fill in for each other or complete tasks that are outside of our list of responsibilities. For example, I may need to help the outreach chair speak to the freshman class about our society. We put precedence on making sure everyone is comfortable and not being overworked, so our board positions often overlap responsibilities. The board is also very welcoming of new ideas and allows freedom in exploring interests to improve the society. The vice president may take on a new role like creating a website for the chapter. Another member of the board took interest in international and diversity student outreach, which is something that we hadn’t done in the past. It is important that everyone is passionate with what they are doing rather than strictly following the role responsibilities.

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The team mindset that the ASCE board has adapted is a great starting point to see how groups can work effectively towards goals while also giving creative freedom to each member. In my future career I will remember that individual roles within group contexts are important, but it can be very beneficial to be flexible with these roles to some extent.