Best summer: Nicole, who uses the pronouns they/them, got an internship with Turner Construction through an Alumni Foundation notice. Visiting skyscraper construction sites, they’d see the skyline from up high and think, “So this is New York. This is what I want to do.”

Extracurriculars: “A lot of students joined as many clubs as possible to look good for colleges but I only volunteered and joined the clubs I genuinely cared about. Volunteering is supposed to be out of the goodness of your heart: it is giving.” Nicole was co-president of a book club and vice president of the school’s ASCE chapter.

Challenge: “It’s lonely, being one of the few girls in this major: We are all strong. I don’t think it’s fair when people say, ‘You were born this way so you should do XYZ’.”

Tech gave me: “It cemented my self
confidence.”