Ashley O’Connor proudly followed in her family’s footsteps and her interest in water works earned her scholarship funding plus a job after graduation.
When Ashley O’Connor of Lavelle, Pa., enrolled at Wilkes University, she was a civil engineering major. Before she started high school, O’Connor knew engineering was in her future. But as she sat drafting projects for her lab, she had a realization. “I don’t want to be at a computer,” O’Connor thought.
So she decided to follow her heart and her family legacy, changing her major to environmental engineering with a focus on water and wastewater. “That’s my one true passion,” she said. “Wastewater’s my favorite thing.” And her passion is a family tradition. O’Connor’s grandfather, who she calls Pap, was a laborer before earning his certification as a water and wastewater treatment operator.
The family’s commitment to water treatment kept flowing. O’Connor’s mother, Natalie Miller O’Connor ’98, was an environmental engineering major at Wilkes. The two even shared the same advisor, Prahlad Murthy, professor of civil and environmental engineering. “He has an old photo of my mom from a lab in his office,” said the senior. “He’s the one advisor I clicked with right away. He’s my number one. He’s the one I go to if I have any problems.”
Murthy welcomes this connection with his students. “My office hours are all of the time I’m here. Whenever I’m here, my door is open,” he said. “The best part of the day is when I’m with my students. That’s the best part of this job.”
For Murthy, in addition to teaching and advising, part of his job involves encouraging his students to go to conferences to present research and network. “Networking in general is very important. Most of the jobs in engineering come through word of mouth. Contacts are very important,” said Murthy.
O’Connor took this advice to heart, attending as many conferences as she could. Among the highlights was this summer’s Pennsylvania Water Environment Association (PWEA) conference in State College. “It’s a good conference for environmental engineers,” said O’Connor. “It’s one of the best opportunities for people looking to go into water and wastewater to talk to people.”
At the conference, O’Connor offered a 30-minute presentation of her research conducted with Saritha Karnae, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. The project involved an examination of high levels of zinc in bakery wastewater. After concluding that heat from the sun caused zinc to leach from poppy and sesame seeds into the wastewater, the team proposed solutions including blocking out heat from the sun or using better filters.
In addition to networking at conferences, O’Connor has gained real-world experience during her internship with Entech Engineering. While her mother serves as a project manager at the firm, O’Connor has been building her own resume. Over the last three years, she’s had an opportunity to study levels of lead in service lines, take inventory and help to write grants for municipalities to offset the cost of wastewater remediation.
All these experiences combined helped O’Connor land an Authorities Future Leaders Scholarship from the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association (PMAA). The scholarship, established in 2023, raises awareness of the need for qualified employees in the industry and supports individuals on this career path. O’Connor traveled to the PMAA annual conference in Hershey, Pa., to receive her award.
O’Connor will be busy on campus for the next few months. In addition to her classwork, she’s in her third year as a resident advisor in Roth Hall. She also serves as an e-Mentor and a member of Residence Hall Council, the Student Assessment Committee, the Pennsylvania Society for Professional Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers.
She can already cross the usual job search off her list. Now in the fall semester of her senior year, O’Connor has signed on for a full-time position with Entech and she’s excited to pursue her passion in the field. “I know I can fit in with them and they see me as a fellow environmental engineer,” she said. As her mentor, Murthy knows O’Connor is ready to succeed. “She loved to be on site and get her hands dirty. She excels at that,” said Murthy.
