Tyler Smith is a fifth year Architectural Engineering student at Penn State specializing in construction management.  He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and was lured to middle Pennsylvania by the beautiful landscape and the prospect of a quality education at a distinguished University.  After four years in the AE program, he feels as if he could not have made a better decision about what to do after high school. 

In the summer of 2006, Tyler worked as a laborer and a heavy equipment operator for the Penngolf Corporation, building Freestone Golf Course into a steep Appalachian hillside in Port Matilda, Pennsylvania.  Working 58-hour weeks in the hot mountain sun and rain gave him a solid first-hand experience of what construction is all about.  In the summer of 2007, he was fortunate enough to land an internship in the Facilities Design and Construction division of the Johns Hopkins Hospital in downtown Baltimore.  Here he managed documents for Hopkins’ New Clinical Building ($1.0B) and had the opportunity to correspond with professionals from a variety of construction trades.

Throughout his studies, Tyler has been fortunate enough to travel to Chicago, Montana and Jamaica on engineering-related projects.  He is also an avid musician and outdoorsman, performing regularly with Nommo Performing Arts Company, a student-run African drum and dance group.  On top of all this, he has been a founding member and president of a coalition of environmental groups on campus for a year and running.  When he does end up with free time, Tyler likes to take a banjo and a few close friends to the wilderness and attempt hike to the highest point he can see.

When all is said and done, Tyler will be ready to move to a new area of the country, begin a career in project management and work towards a Professional Engineering license with an employer that he trusts and respects.