Undergraduate Pursues Passion for the Environment

Who: Bridget Gile, Civil Engineering major with a minor in Sustainability Studies

Early beginnings: One could say that engineering is in Bridget’s blood. As the daughter of an engineer, she recalls building a passive solar heater for her dad’s workshop, constructing a front porch and even doing some roofing as a teen. A high school service trip showed her just how capable she was of managing her own projects.

Passion: Sustainability, the environment and stormwater systems, in particular. “A Natural Resources and Conservation class got me really interested in the subject,” she says.

Experience:

• Lab assistant for the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership
• Undergraduate research at Virginia Tech, studying hydrologic controls on wetland function as part of the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program
• Water resources internship with AKRF, an environmental, planning and engineering consulting firm in Philadelphia
• Working with Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Bridget Wadzuk, PhD, looking at water flow through the campus’s constructed wetland. 

Other activities:

• STEM outreach activities at local schools
• President of PEERS (a student-to-student mentoring program)
• Member of the Villanova Environmental Group
• Captain of the University’s Women’s Ultimate Frisbee club team