Sami Rodia
Sami Rodia is from Walpole, MA and is interested in applying engineering solutions to environmental sustainability. She has enjoyed courses in Wake Forest Engineering that have allowed her to expand upon this interest such as Hydrologic and Hydraulic Engineering and Environmental Engineering that focus heavily on water treatment and quality as well as air pollution and soil remediation. Using the knowledge gained from these courses, she has been able to narrow her career goals and introduced her to the fields of engineering she is interested in pursuing. Sami has been hard at work during her senior year, designing a system for limiting erosion on the WFU campus under the guidance of Dr. Michael Gross and Dr. Courtney Dr Vittorio (Wake Forest Engineering). The stormwater runoff model developed by the team can be implemented in other at-risk locations and limit environmental harm by reducing soil erosion on the banks of bodies of running water. Sami has gained experience with professional software like PCSWMM that will be beneficial as she continues the path to her career. During her junior and senior year, Sami interned at CDM Smith as an Environmental Engineering intern at the company’s Rhode Island branch, working on various projects relating to water quality improvement.
Sami is a manager for the Wake Forest Varsity Field Hockey team and has worked for Wake Forest University Athletics since her freshman year. She has given back to her community, completing a large number of volunteering hours through the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity participating in both on- and off-campus service events. She has volunteered at Piedmont Environmental Alliance, taking part in the Energy Explorers program in conjunction with Wake Forest Sustainability and taught Winston-Salem middle school students about the benefits of energy conservation. Her favorite memory from Wake Forest Engineering are the friendships that she fostered during her time in the program. “I feel like Wake Engineering is a unique major because we get to know the other students in the major so well over the years and form such a close community” she shares.
Sami is currently interning at Dewberry as a Water Resources Engineer at the Fairfax, VA office and will be starting as a full-time employee after graduation.
Second Major, Minor, Concentration – Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mathematics, Environmental Science
Internship(s) – CDM Smith Water Services Group, Dewberry
Other – Manager for Wake Forest Varsity Field Hockey, Wake Athletics, Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, Piedmont Environmental Alliance Energy Explorers Program