Alumni VITA 

Ben Kuo (BS-ChemE/EPP 1991) 

     What a year!  I got engaged, switched jobs, sold our house, got married, and built a new house!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  After graduation in 1991 I joined Radian, an environmental consulting firm.  The job was like a full time project course.  I got to play many roles on a daily basis from task leader to marketing to technical work.  One notable effort involved regulatory development supporting an EPA proposed rule for hazardous soil treatment standards as part of RCRA's land disposal restrictions.  The work involved all aspects of rulemaking, including data collection/ interpretation, QA/QC, regulatory language development, response to public comments, and innovative technology investigations. 
     In 1993 I transferred from D.C. to the Louisville, KY office to focus on air quality issues in the private sector.  Projects in Louisville were primarily with Title V permitting and data management; however along the way I modeled emissions from explosives and co-authored an EPA publication on controlling NOx emissions from utility boilers using a technique called natural gas reburning.  I was tempted to move into MIS; however, the long hours on the road began to wear. 
     A friend alerted me to an opportunity to work as an engineer in the Environmental Department at Toyota's Georgetown, KY plant which produces the Camry, Avalon, and Sienna to the tune of over half a million vehicles a year.  I jumped at the chance.   All facets of automobile manufacturing occur at the plant including stamping, welding, painting, plastics molding, powertrain, and general assembly. 
     It's been a real challenge switching from client oriented consulting to a product focused manufacturing environment.  In addition, I've had to re-tune my time management from juggling discrete projects/clients to daily tasks and routines that are jumbled together. 

Blake on Olympic Ice at Lake Placid 

EPP Secretary Gloria Blake participated in the 1997 US Figure Skating Adult National Championships in Lake Placid.  We asked her to tell us about the experience.  She writes: 

My interest in ice skating began when I was a child but I didn't begin skating until the mid 80's when at age 30 my children were all in school and I could grab a few hours in the middle of the day.  I took private lessons and became reason-ably good.  That's where things stood for over ten years.  But, by 1995 my children had become adults and I had much more time for myself.  I began training 3 to 4 mornings a week from 7:00 am to 8:00 am.  Hard work paid off and this year I ended up on Olympic Ice in Lake Placid, New York as a competitor at the 1997 USFSA Adult National Championships where I placed fifth in my class (just missing a medal).  Then came the following August when, in one of the most memorable moments of my life, I received my first medal (bronze) at Hershey, PA in the Hershey Open Competition.  I plan to continue competing.  I've traveled a bit and met some great people. Skating and competing is the excellent exercise and it satisfies the athlete in me, my feminine side, and perhaps most of all the kid in me.