Benji Benson works as an ODP Equipment Center Attendant at Campus Rec, but his main passion is Civil Engineering. Benji joined the CREC team as a part of FLASH in 2020. When he is not at work or in class he is spending time with family and friends, playing video games, working out, or practicing for his dream job by working on a project for sustainable solutions. Sustainable Solutions is part of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), an organization that Benji is super passionate about and involved in. Through this organization, Benji is able to utilize and practice the engineering skills that he is learning in class.
The ASCE has student chapters at universities across the United States including PSU. The organization hosts competitions for student engineers to demonstrate their innovation and skill. Benji has been a part of the PSU Sustainable Solutions team since he came to PSU in 2020 and he is now the team captain. In this group, Benji has been able to learn the trade of engineering. Each year the team competes to create a sustainable solution for a hypothetical situation. For example, this year the goal is to revitalize a downtown area by reworking the stormwater management, making the area have a more multi-modal transportation approach, and creating an educational community center. Benji’s team will present their model and project to judges at regionals in Montana and if they win they can move on to nationals in Wisconsin. Last year Benji's team won regionals and went to nationals in Louisiana where his team was one of 16 teams competing for the national prize.
One of Benji’s proudest accomplishments is attending nationals, his team worked really hard to win regionals and get to nationals. He is very proud and grateful to have attended and presented to the judges. As the captain this year he wants to continue to develop his leadership skills and hopefully go to nationals again. His involvement in Sustainable Solutions has been instrumental in preparing him for his future career by giving him real-world experience in Civil Engineering.
In June, Benji is excited to start an internship at a Portland-based water and environmental engineering business. After college, Benji looks forward to traveling. He was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and moving to Portland was just the first step in going to new places. His next travel dream is to go to Singapore where he’d love to see its unique and advanced infrastructure and architecture in person.
Benji’s advice for fellow student staff at Campus Rec is to “Do what you enjoy. When looking for a career pathway, do something you are interested in rather than just something practical. Money is important but not everything.”
Benji chose his career path largely due to his personal value of sustainability. It is something he is really passionate about and he wants to implement more sustainability into everyday infrastructure.
Benji loves Campus Rec for its community and how it complements his field of study. One of Benji’s favorite things about working at Campus Rec is the people he has met and been able to build a community with. He feels grateful to be close to the ODP staff and part of the team. After graduating in 2025, Benji hopes to find a job in Civil Engineering.
Thank you for all you do, Benji! We are looking forward to seeing you around the Rec. Be sure to say hi to Benji if you see him around.