Fernando Ceballos '13 Named New Face of Civil Engineering

RESTON, Va. – Fernando Ceballos, P.E., a Project Engineer with Pape-Dawson Engineers, Inc., has been named one of ten 2018 New Faces of Civil Engineering, Professional Edition by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This program recognizes young civil engineers for their achievements and contributions to society. Ceballos will be officially recognized during ASCE’s annual Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Gala on March 15, 2018, in Arlington, Va.

As a Project Engineer with commercial and residential experience, Ceballos’ day job is working in land development. However, his true passion is mentoring others and volunteering. Ceballos mentors elementary through college students. He educates them about opportunities in STEM, offers college and career advice and shares his story as the first person in his family to attend college. After mentoring several college students who were struggling to find internships, he created a summer internship and mentorship program to assist with personal and professional development. He hosted ten students at the University of Texas at Dallas every Friday throughout the summer. The students worked on engineering tasks, gave presentations on their work and received interview coaching. Following completion of the program, six of the ten students found internships or full-time positions.

“Giving back and sharing my story allows me to inspire them to pursue more, to fight the status quo and overcome the barriers that have been set for them,” says Ceballos of his volunteer work with students. “Being able to show them that there are people who have been in their shoes gives them hope and that inspires me to keep growing.”

Ceballos is a member of ASCE’s Dallas branch, and is part of the National Committee of Diversity Inclusion and the Committee of Pre-College Outreach. He is also the current Region 5 Vice-President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). Previously, Ceballos held the role of SHPE’s Dallas Fort-Worth President, Regional Marketing Director and Houston Vice-President, among others. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2013.