Meet Nick Kjera, EI, the newest member of our Transportation Team!
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself…
Nick: I have a wife named Rachel. We have a 10-year-old son and a baby girl due in November. We enjoy attending our son’s sporting events, and we enjoy hiking and camping in our spare time.
Q: Why did you want to become an engineer?
Nick: With my dad owning a construction business, I’ve always been around construction and even worked for him all throughout college. I’ve also excelled at math and science in school. When I was in third grade, I went to Engineering Day at NDSU, and the career field seemed like a good way to blend all of my interests.
Q: What piece of advice would you give someone choosing the same career?
Nick: Always pay close attention to detail, and try to learn as many of the engineering software and computer programs that you can. Knowing these programs inside and out will only help your design efforts go that much smoother.
Q: Is there a project you’ve worked on thus far in your career that you’re proudest of?
Nick: At a previous firm, I worked on a bike path in East Moline that runs a block from my house. Being able to use it and see people enjoying it each day is a pretty great feeling.
Q: What’s your favorite family tradition?
Nick: Both my family and my wife’s family are Swedish and Norwegian, so at Christmas time we eat a lot of Scandinavian food like Swedish meatballs, lefsa, and lutefisk. It’s the only time of the year we make it and eat it as an entire family.
Q: Which section of the bookstore / library is your favorite?
Nick: I read a lot of classic literature books like Dickens or Tolstoy, mainly because it takes a lot of time to read a whole novel. If I’m going to sit down and take the time to read, I want to make sure it’s going to be a good book, rather than take a chance on a new author.