I’m typically a shy, introverted person. However, last week I had an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Florida Section conference to co-lead a presentation about leadership and building confidence.

My Confidence 101 presentation was a workshop to help aspiring engineering students develop confidence in their personal and professional lives.  

As a Roadway Design Intern at DRMP and a Civil Engineering student at the University of Central Florida (UCF), attending the conference was an opportunity to network with A/E/C industry professionals and represent UCF’s ASCE Chapter as its 2022-2023 president. I attended the conference along with DRMP Structures Design Intern Aliyah Ramos who is the Chapter’s incoming vice president.

DRMP interns Abby Rains and Aliyah Ramos attend the ASCE conference at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla. 

I am grateful for the support DRMP and the UCF ASCE Chapter gave me to attend this two-day conference held in Orlando, Fla. About 400 professional engineers (PEs) and engineer interns (EIs) from around Florida attended.

The conference provided sessions on utilities, water resources, sustainability, structures, transportation, and geotechnical engineering.

For engineering students attending Florida colleges, the conference offered tracks on interviewing tips, resume critiques, Leadership 101, and my presentation, Confidence 101, to help prepare them for job opportunities after they graduate.

Bill Boyle, AIA, of Boyle Architecture PLLC in Boynton Beach, gave me the opportunity at the ASCE conference to co-lead the hour-long Confidence 101 presentation with him after I approached him during last year’s conference to tell him how much his presentation resonated with me.

A couple of months later, he contacted me to ask if I would be interested in presenting with him at this year’s conference. I was shocked, excited, and nervous at the same time but knew I could not say no to this amazing personal growth opportunity.

DRMP Roadway Design Intern Abby Rains and Boynton Beach-based Architect Bill Boyle co-present a Confidence 101 workshop at the ASCE Florida Section Conference. 

Confidence 101

Our Confidence 101 presentation was my first time speaking and presenting in front of a group of my peers at a large conference. I didn’t know what to expect or how the students were going to react. The more I spoke, the more I realized I didn’t have anything to be nervous about, and that’s what I hope my peers gained from my experience.

DRMP Roadway Design Intern Abby Rains listens intently to her peers' thoughts during her Confidence 101 presentation at the ASCE Florida Section conference. 

The thought process behind our Confidence 101 presentation was interactive. We gave personal anecdotes about ourselves and did interactive skits to showcase confidence.

For one skit, we selected three people – one to act as the confident person, another as the anxious person, and one to act out the scenario based on what the other two were doing.

My biggest takeaway from this experience is I gained confidence from it. For me, if there was just one attendee who took away what I did last year, I did my job.

I realized the only way for me and others to build confidence is to do things out of our comfort zone. This presentation was one small step in the right direction.

Overcoming Fears  

What struck me about Bill’s presentation last year was his story of perseverance and success after refusing to give up on his dream of becoming an architect.

Bill leads off his confidence presentations with sharing his personal success story to inspire others to overcome their fears. After working for two reputable residential architecture firms, he pursued his lifelong dream of opening his own firm, Boyle Architecture, and has done very well.

Engineering students participate in a Confidence 101 workshop during the ASCE Florida Section conference.  

The one thing I stressed to students during our presentation is to view taking risks as an opportunity instead of fear. That was the main point I wanted to drive home. Even if things don’t go the way you had planned or hoped, the experience can be a good learning opportunity. If you can’t take bad experiences or failures as a learning opportunity, you can’t grow.