Another invested alumnus who has given back to the department is Lucas Bruner. Lucas, who works at Pfizer, participates in the mentorship program for rising chemical engineers. Additionally, he is one of the newest members who has joined the ChBE Advisory Board. He was motivated to join the board because he wanted to show students the versatility of a chemical engineering degree. More specifically, he wanted to highlight the potential for chemical engineers to contribute to the pharmaceutical industry and advance solutions in medicine, as he has in his career.
As an alumnus, Lucas strives to build connections and develop skills for chemical engineering majors so that they are prepared for the professional world, not just as scholars. For example, during the spring semester of 2022, he held a workshop on resumes with the university’s AIChE chapter. During this meeting, Lucas went over how large companies in the industry review candidates and emphasized the type of content that would better position chemical engineering graduates to land interviews. Lucas also leverages his position on the ChBE Advisory Board to consult faculty on trends in the professional world that can be tied into the curriculum presented to students. Ultimately, these efforts play a large role in keeping students ahead of the curve by positioning them for the transition between college and their first job.
