It's cool to be part of a family.
Jack Howes grew up exposed to Civil Engineering through his father, who studied civil engineering as an undergraduate at Georgia Tech and worked as a project manager on projects at places like Sea World and Universal. Jack was inspired from an early age to envision a similar job traveling and building roller coasters himself.
Jack started at UMD in the CEE Department in Fall 2021. He is pursuing the Transportation/ Project Management track. Jack says he chose UMD because he was interested in the top schools in both engineering and football, and he says “UMD checked both those boxes.”
Athletics are a central part of Jack’s life, and of his experience at UMD. He played soccer throughout high school until his junior year, when he switched to football. He has been on UMD’s football team since freshman year of college. This year he has a starting spot as a kicker on the team. He says of his teammates, “We’re all really close. It’s cool to be part of a family like that.” He attributes his ability to balance football and academics with the flexible schedule UMD has allowed him; he is able to take most of his classes in the morning, and do football practice in the afternoon. He also says his professors have mostly been very accommodating of his needs as a student athlete.
Jake says his favorite thing about being a Civil major is the “challenge.” Classes may be hard, but he is studying what interests him. His favorite course he’s taken in college is ENES100, in which he worked on a team to design and build a robot.
Jack also appreciates the internship program he was part of through UMD Athletics. Through this program, he interned with Nicola Construction in Summer 2022. He particularly enjoyed being able to shadow superintendents on site.
Jack is a Team Representative for the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC). He is also a member of the Gossett Fellows program, a mentorship program also through UMD Athletics. In his free time, he likes to golf at the UMD golf course.
Jack plans to graduate in Fall of 2025 or Spring of 2026. After that, he hopes to play for the NFL or a professional football team. Alternatively, he may become a civil engineer; he is still interested in building roller coasters like his father. His accomplishments at UMD will make whatever he chooses possible.
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