A key part of the legacy of Walter Chiang, the late founder of CP&Y, an STV Company, was his dedication to mentoring the next generation of industry professionals.
“It is important to motivate our young minds and encourage them to work hard, engage in the community, and have confidence in their life,” Walter once said.
Today, team members in our Dallas office are carrying on Walter’s legacy via their involvement in a growing Externship Company Showcase program with the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).
Recently, a group of 19 UTA engineering students visited the Dallas office for a slate of informational sessions led by our team members related to our water/wastewater, survey and transportation disciplines. This marked the second consecutive academic semester CP&Y, an STV company hosted the externship program – with more to students expected to participate in the coming years.
“It’s great having these students visit us and rotate through all the different disciplines to get a better sense of real-world applications of what they’re studying,” said Andrea Klocinski, P.E., an engineer in our Dallas office and a UTA alumna. “Our team will show them equipment, how to use it, and then open up a dialogue about the kind of work we do.”
The firm’s connection to UTA can be traced back to Walter’s industry service prior to starting his own firm, Chiang and Associates, Inc., in Arlington in 1980 – which would later become CP&Y. Starting in 1976, Walter served as an adjunct faculty member in UTA’s Civil Engineering Department, teaching water and wastewater treatment design and industrial wastewater treatment. He also served on the Civil Engineering Advisory Boards for the UTA and the University of Texas at Austin. Walter continued to teach at UTA until 1991.
In 2014, Walter was inducted into UTA’s “Hall of Achievement” is accorded to individuals who, “through their performance and example, have made significant contributions to the engineering profession.”
With so many UTA alumni currently working at CP&Y, an STV Company, it only made sense to help develop and foster the externship program when the opportunity first arose last spring.
“Participating in this program allows our team to stay connected to the school while also continuing to honor Walter’s legacy,” said Samantha Terkelson, a senior human resources generalist in Dallas.