As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Ken Wenz, a Professional Geologist and Senior Project Manager in Athenica’s HazMat Division, recently had the opportunity to share information about his career choice with fifth grade students from the Charles E. Schwarting Elementary School in the Plainedge (NY) Union Free School District. As part of the school’s Career Week program, Ken participated in a live video conference with one class (for which his son is the teacher), and discussed what a geologist does in general, as well as the specifics of working as a geologist for an environmental consulting firm. In response to excellent questions from the students, he also told them about environmental sampling procedures and described some of the field instruments and equipment that we use during investigation and remediation projects. The video conference was recorded, so that it can be shared with other fifth grade classes.
In addition, Athenica recently participated in Lafayette College’s Explore and Connect Program. Under this virtual career exploration program, students learn about a field of interest by working with professionals on a finite assignment or case study that is relevant to their course of study. In our case, an Environmental Engineering student shadowed our technical staff during preparation of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA). She reviewed pertinent guidance documents and previous Phase I ESA reports. To establish the framework about the data needed for a Phase I ESA and the rationale behind how to review the provided information. She then had several follow-up discussions and emails with our engineers and scientists, for clarification and to answer questions. We then provided her with selected information pertaining to an active Phase I ESA project for her independent review and assessment, followed by discussions regarding her findings and how they compared to ours. It was a wonderful experience for both her and us!
On November 21st, 2020 Athenica’s Principal and Professional Engineer Spiro Dongaris was a guest lecturer for a graduate class at the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department of the City College of New York. As a CCNY alumnus Spiro was proud to be able to give back to the Institution that afforded him an excellent education and provided him with the solid foundation upon which he built Athenica. The lecture was focused on “out of scope items” as described in the ASTM Environmental Site Assessment standard and was intended to present the College students with other environmental career opportunities that otherwise may not be made known to them.
The following week, our Professional Geologist and Senior Project Manager Ken Wenz presented to the same class an outline the E-Designation Program that discussed all the steps necessary to satisfy the requirements of the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) of the City of New York.
At Athenica, we feel that as environmental professionals, we have an obligation for environmental stewardship, and we endeavor to share our vast knowledge and expertise, both on and off of the job site. Are you part of a group that would be interested in hearing a presentation about what we do? Please contact Kenneth Wenz.
