WORKFORCE
Engineering graduate oversees major construction projects
Published July 2016
Dylan Dunn works on some of Fargo and West Fargo’s most crucial road construction projects.
He is another example of NDSU graduates who live and work in the area. The engineering and life skills he gained at the university are helping him succeed at Moore Engineering. He’s one of several alumni working for the West Fargo-based civil engineering and land surveying company.
Dunn prepared for his career by earning a degree in civil engineering from NDSU and by being heavily involved in student organizations. He successfully balanced academics and a spot on the football team during his first three years of college. As a player, he earned the Missouri Valley Football Conference Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award among other recognition. But an injury to his Achilles tendon prematurely ended his football career.
After the injury, Dunn got involved in other student organizations. “I decided to fit four years of outside-the-classroom experience into a year and a half,” he said.
He was president of the NDSU chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He co-captained the Concrete Canoe Team at national competitions twice.
In 2015, Dunn spent a week in Guatemala erecting retaining walls to stabilize soil near a school. The project was organized through Engineers Without Borders.
Dunn also interned with the City of Fargo’s engineering department and his current employer. He was involved in two major residential thoroughfare projects that connect Fargo and West Fargo. The insights gained on the job nicely complemented what he was learning in the classroom.
His schedule was full, but he learned teamwork, leadership, communication and decision-making from the experiences.
“It’s paid off,” Dunn said.
Dunn started a full-time job with Moore Engineering a few weeks after graduating in December 2015. He is already overseeing the reconstruction of an important 2.25-mile stretch of 12th Ave. N. near Fargo and West Fargo’s expanding industrial park.
He loves it. He was the kid who was excited to see road construction and pressed his nose against the car window, straining for a better view.
Now he has a front row seat every day as he coordinates with his company’s engineers on the day-to-day progress and helps make sure things run smoothly and on time. He answers questions from work crews and helps troubleshoot problems, such as when unknown underground utility lines are uncovered during excavation.
The project is moving quickly under Dunn’s watchful eyes. At one point, it was nearly two months ahead of schedule. The action is what interested Dunn in civil engineering in the first place.
His goal is to become a certified professional engineer and focus on road construction projects long-term.
“I love to see progress,” he said.
