Bryan Skinner ’11 Scheduling Engineer Kiewit Construction

For as long as Bryan Skinner can remember, he's been asking, “How did they build that?”

That's how Skinner knew BGSU's construction management and technology program was for him. The 2011 graduate said his degree helped jumpstart a career that's taken him to the West Coast.

“The biggest reward is seeing the finished project — seeing something built that the public is going to use and enjoy,” Skinner said.

After graduating, Skinner worked briefly for Indianapolis-based Miller Pipeline, a transmission pipeline construction company.

In 2012, Kiewit Construction hired him as a field engineer for its San Diego airport construction project. The project included extensive parking and road improvements and Skinner oversaw activities of about 20 field workers, he said.

When construction wrapped up in San Diego, Skinner moved into a new role as scheduling engineer on another project in Folsom, Calif., near Sacramento. The company is completing construction of a new auxiliary spillway at the Folsom Dam, which will reduce flood risk for the region.

“Being with Kiewit has just been a dream because they’re one of the top construction companies to work for in the U.S.,” Skinner said. “It really doesn’t get any better.”

Skinner's fiancee — fellow Bowling Green alum Chelsea Dobbs — has since moved to Folsom, too and works for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Sacramento. The pair met in a geology class at BGSU and plan to marry in 2015, Skinner said.

While his current role with Kiewit will end in 2016, Skinner said he hopes to continue with the company and is excited about where he might land next. Kiewit’s west coast employees can end up being placed as far as Alaska, Canada or even Hawaii, he said.

“Construction is a job where you have to be prepared to go where the work is, and also know that it's not an easy business. It's a lot of stress and a lot of hours,” Skinner said. “But there's never been any doubt in my mind that this is what I wanted to do.”