Hak Lim, Civil Engineering Alum

Degrees
BSCS (2005) , MSCE (2011), BSCE (2019)

Current Residence
Bartlett, TN

Current Employer
OHM Advisors

What influenced your decision to attend Herff College of Engineering?
Meeting with Dr. Martin Lipinski and Dr. Shahram Pezeshk has convinced me to enroll with the Graduate Program in Civil Engineering instead of Computer Science.

How did Herff prepare you for your career?
Career fair, interactions with potential employers, and realizing being an engineer is more than a job, it a long term commitment to continue to learn and give to your community.

What skills or knowledge did you learn throughout the program that you found most helpful in your career?
Strong communication skills and proper documentations of your engineering work and tasks. You will get questions 5, 10 years later since most of our transportation projects are long term.

Who was your most impactful professor? Why?
Dr. Paul Palazolo. He taught me most classes than any other professors and he demonstrated to me that an engineer will never stop learning in his own classes. Examples such as he would make videos for us to solve problems, new apps from smart phone to interact with learning materials. He is evolving his classes.

Were you involved in student groups? If so, which one(s)?
ASCE student chapter in Memphis. We did have a few events and gatherings

What support(s) did you have during your time as a college student? How did you keep focused on the goal?
I was fortunately to started with an assistantship with Dean Office of Arts and Sciences as an IT support working with late MJ Garrett. Eventually Dr. Lipinski offered me assistantship to work as RA in IFTI. During the stay with IFTI, this really has made an impact on me knowing researches and publications we were working on would make a different for our city to grow.

What was your greatest memory from your time at Herff?

Dr. and Mrs. Lipinski invited all the Research Assistants from IFTI for a Christmas gathering in his house. He was so proud of his locomotive toys collection.

What advice would you give those considering enrolling in Herff College of Engineering?
Interaction is the key. Visit the college, talk with professors and students. Reach out to alumni.

What do you know now that you wish you had known during your time at Herff?
I wished I would have paid my visit to Herff College on my first bachelor program. I don't seem to recall why I did not.

Was your Herff experience worth the price? If you could do it over again, what would you do differently?
It would be priceless. If I can do this again, I would consider to complete a Phd program instead of stopping at Master program.