Student Activities

by Dan Diorio

January was a busy month for Student Activities! February should be more of the same!

Four mechanical engineering students from the Student Chapter at Northeastern University toured the Stokes Hall construction site at Boston College on January 13th. The tour began in a construction trailer where Glenn Hand, the Clerk of the Works for Boston College, gave a brief synopsis of the project including the type of construction, the completion schedule, and some of the major contractors on the project. The group then made its way into the building which is scheduled to be completed for occupancy in October of 2012. A significant amount of the mechanical piping and ductwork has been roughed-in with some of the major equipment yet to be delivered. The condensing boilers and the large emergency generator have been installed. However, the water-cooled chillers, cooling towers, and large air handling units serving the VAV system have not yet been delivered. The highlight of the tour took place in the new 13.8 kV NStar sub-station, located in the basement. This station, fed from two separate NStar distribution stations for redundancy, feeds new high voltage loops serving several Boston College buildings.

The Student Chapter from Massasoit Community College will tour Stokes Hall in early-February. I will continue to schedule tours of this LEED-Gold project for Student Members throughout the spring and summer. Please contact me if your Student Chapter is interested.

Fenway High School runs a Job Shadow program where seniors spend part of a day ‘shadowing’ a professional in their field of interest. The day provides the student with an overview of the company’s mission and structure, experience of a typical work day, and interviews with employees to gain knowledge about what it takes to be successful. Robert Persechini, past Boston Chapter President, and Executive Principal at RDK Engineers, hosted a student from Fenway High School on January 20th as part of this program. The agenda for the day included interviews with engineers in each of the major trades (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection) as well as a visit to a local project site.

Please drop me a line at daniel.diorio.2@bc.edu if you’re interested in helping out with the Student Activities Committee or to suggest ideas for student activities.