Caitlin Ferrell

Reflection

ABET Outcome Survey

AE 481W/482 Course Reflection

Through my experience of completing my senior thesis, I have learned what I can do and how hard I can push myself. At first, it was very intimidating knowing that the past four years of college was supposed to have taught me enough to be able to take on THE “Senior Thesis”. However, as the fall semester started, I realized that I really was prepared to analyze a real building from several aspects.

When the spring semester began, I had chosen to redesign the Erie Convention Center and Sheraton Hotel using a staggered truss system, a building system that I was not familiar with at all. I found myself spending a majority of the beginning of the semester researching, and then applying what I already knew to this new concept.

In the end, I was pleased with my final outcome. Of course there are things that I now see that I could have done differently, but if I would have seen this project five years ago, I would not know that I would be capable of completing it today. Seeing self growth has been the most rewarding part of this course, and it has been an experience that I will never forget.

CPEP & Discussion Board Reflection

I feel that the most important part about the CPEP websites is the interaction with other students. During thesis, you might not realize what your peers are working on around you, however the CPEP websites allows a place to view what others have done in the past, and what your classmates are currently working on.

The CPEP websites also provide a place for family and professionals to browse through your work. Utilizing the AE Discussion Board was also a fantastic way to be connected to a wide variety of engineers. I was impressed with the amount of input that was given on various topics, and always in a short amount of time. This allowed us, as students, to feel more at ease knowing that there was a group of professionals willing to help us whenever we had questions.