While he is not performing his role in the Army National Guard as a team leader, he is focusing his time on his education and other civilian duties.
Manny grew up in Canal Winchester, where he was a part of his high school’s football and wrestling teams. Upon graduating, however, he decided to step away from sports to further his academics. Manny simultaneously enlisted in the military and began his college career at University of Toledo in 2014.
He was initially uncertain of what he wanted to pursue, and was reluctantly considering majoring in mechanical engineering. Manny completed his general education courses at Toledo and during his time there, stumbled upon The Ohio State University’s construction systems management (CSM) program and felt an instant connection.
In the spring of 2016, Manny transferred to Ohio State pursuing a major in CSM and a minor in agribusiness. Counting his military school and University of Toledo credits, he is on his fifth year of schooling.
Manny is passionate about his choice of major, “there’s a pretty broad spectrum of things you can do in the construction industry. It’s not the same repetitive thing every day; there’s always something new.”
During his first semester at Ohio State, Manny found a flyer for the CSM club and has been involved ever since, even going on to be elected club President in spring of 2018.
“The club is a great networking opportunity for students that don’t know what to do after they graduate,” said Manny.
Through CSM club, Manny is able to incorporate both his military leadership experience and his love for graphic design. He creates the organization’s flyers and posters to help spread the word about the opportunities in CSM club to new students, much like how he learned about the organization when he was a new student.
Manny also serves as the Veterans Community Advocate for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). Manny acts as a liaison to communicate with military members past and present. He assists and informs them of different activities and events around campus.
As a CSM student, Manny has had the opportunity to expand his professional skillset with multiple internships. During his first semester at Ohio State he had the opportunity to work at Vaughn Industries as a Project Administrative Assistant. There, he assisted in the construction of the Jamison Crane Building located on Ohio State’s Columbus campus, carrying out a multitude of tasks to help the operation run smoothly.
Gradually, he started working with Vaughn’s CAD department, conducting project coordination on building systems through programs such as AutoCAP MEP, Revit, and Navisworks. These programs were used to model the building and components within them in a three-dimensional format to identify and prevent potential collisions or other problems. Following this experience, in the summer of 2017, he took on a new internship opportunity. Employed at the George J. Igel Company as a project intern, Manny worked on more administrative tasks; his duties consisted of job startup documenting, organizing, and negotiating costs and modifications to project plans with Owners and General Contractors.
For his career, he hopes to one day work for a company that does building coordination. He devotes his time and energy to his education and organizations on campus but is also ready for a call to action from the military at any point. He strongly advises students to be well versed and to pay attention to everything they experience. For students who are interested in following similar paths as Manny, he recommends keeping an eye out for different events the CSM club is putting together this semester and in the future.
By Helena Nguyen, FABE Student Administrative Assistant
