Recently, HCND was fortunate to sit down with senior civil engineer Kevin J. Stewart, hero and scholar, who deigned to accept to our label of Campus Cutie. He answered 21 of our questions so let’s get up close and personal:
Name: Kevin J. Stewart
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Major: Civil Engineering and Economics
Major you wish you chose: International Economics, but pretty satisfied with my choice.
Dorm Allegiance: Marilyn M. Keough Hall
1.Why do you think you’re being interviewed?
I don’t know much about HerCampus.com and the type of audience they cater to, but after just glancing at the home page and seeing tabs for topics such Style, Beauty, Health, and Love, I have my doubts that they typically feature an engineer’s perspective. I suppose I bring a little diversity in that regard. That… and the fact that I love discussing Style, Beauty, Health, and… Love ;)
2.Who are you?
Let’s play two truths and a lie:
– I am the foremost authority on all things pertaining to the Movie: “Love Actually”
– I am a brother, a cousin, a nephew, an uncle, and a soon to be father.
– I laugh in the face of danger.
(shh…want the answer? All lies.)
But I’ll level with you with a truth: I’m a nice guy, first and foremost, and I enjoy long walks and a nice laugh.
3.Favorite Domer dead, alive, or fictional?
Father Hesburgh. The man needs no introduction and he has done so much as far as spreading the mission of this University.
4.Post-grad plans?
I hope to run away from the engineering profession as fast as possible. Once I accomplish that feat, I hope to eventually become an entrepreneur. The thought of working for myself and running my own show is intoxicating. But until I get some start-up capital (and an viable idea), I will flip houses as a sort of side job to start building some of those entrepreneurial skills. Then again, I could always do what my brother did: get a corporate job and then quit after having a quarter-life crisis, sell all of my possessions, and then pick myself up and move to Portugal to live and learn the language for 6 months. He tells me the Lisbon coast has great windsurfing – tempting.
5.Highlight of your college career to date?
Zero voice cracks in class to date – win. Outside of that, studying abroad in Perth, Australia was a blast. That trip almost killed me in several different ways, just ask any of my fellow Perthians. After getting mono, two ear infections, and one trip to an emergency dentist (long story), I’d say surviving was a highlight in itself. And it gave me a greater appreciation of good ol’ ND.
6.In 25 years, you will be:
46 – trick question. But really, hopefully I’ll still be an active guy that is still skiing, rock climbing, golfing, playing ball, travelling, and all the rest. Maybe I’ll have a little family with somewhere between 3-4 kids named Yasmine, Gavin, Kirk, and Optimus Prime. Who knows? I don’t really plan out stuff like that.
7.What did you think you were going to do freshman year and why?
I am a pretty poor long-term planner, and I was a horrendous one as a freshman. Consequently, I had very little idea of what I would do for a career. I had my parents barking in one ear that engineering would teach me practical skills such as problem solving and would be instrumental in securing me some sort of a job. In the other, my party-boy brother (or so my I thought with my naiveté) was living it up as a senior finance major and constantly tempting me to jump ship and board the business bus (#alliteration). To support my assertion that I am not another engineering snob, I must say that I have since learned that business is by no small stretch a joke major, finance in particular. Some of the most brilliant, driven individuals I have met at ND are business majors, and this drive shows when it comes to interview season and the job hunt (I’m looking at you two lovers, Consulting and I-Banking). In any case, until recently, I did not do a very good job of exploring interests on my periphery and basically just stuck with path I started on. However, I knew I wanted to diversify my education in some way outside of engineering, so I beefed up my schedule and applied some extra AP credits to take on Economics as a supplementary major.
8.If you could change one thing about ND what would it be?
I would make it a 6 year school (who wants to graduate?), but that would probably receive some pushback from Ted Hesburgh. Other than that, a little bit more flexibility in my schedule would be nice. There have been many classes that I would cut out entirely of my curriculum and others that I would love to take (like an architecture class). The whole concept of a major is a little bit BS in my opinion, but it is fully entrenched in the university system and you have to live with it.
9.Favorite class you’ve taken?
The best taught class I have ever taken was actually a Hydraulics course offered when I was abroad in Australia. However, since that class pertains to a very minute portion of the Notre Dame population, I will reference the best Notre Dame teacher I have had: Prof. David Ruccio who teaches the Topics of Political Economy class I am currently taking. He is probably the most passionate and intense lecturer that I have ever had, and boy does he know his stuff. Being a Marxist, you really need to watch how you throw around the word “capitalist”, or he will shut you down.
10. Worst?
I would say Solid Mechanics, even though I was interested in the subject matter. It didn’t help that I was on dicey terms with my professor. He was a good guy, but he was just a little too intense and did not have a very favorable impression of the typical college work ethic (he is also Czech). During one of his rants, I made a comment (I forget my exact words) and he shot back at me saying, “Why don’t you go home and play FRISBEE! You think students at Stanford are outside all day playing Frisbee???” Actually professor, yes, I do. From what I know, Palo Alto has wonderful weather, and I would venture a guess that they have a pretty damn good Ultimate team as well. How this drove home his point, I don’t know. Needless to say, he had my number for the rest of the semester.
11. Bed time?
I’m a cranky boy when I don’t get my 8 hours, and I don’t typically do the caffeine thing. But Environmental Engineering homework (yuck) doesn’t complete itself. So I guess I’m gonna be cranky… But really, I need my sleep so I’d say 1-2 AM.
12. Favorite spot on campus?
The dining hall (South, of course) is pretty magical. You have to love how it changes with the seasons.
13. Biggest fear?
I used to be really freaked out by open water (i.e. stuck in the middle of the ocean) but after scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, I have sort of gotten over that.
14. Guilty pleasure?
Anything that starts with “One” and ends with “Direction”, but I feel no shame so I guess that doesn’t apply.
15. What’s your drink?
I don’t have a drink but I did invent one: ¾ of a REDD’s Apple Ale filled with Fireball Whiskey – Call it a REDD HOT. Okay, I probably was not the first mix master to combine apple and cinnamon, but in my totally self-centered worldview, I’d like to think so.
Critical reviews of the REDD HOT: “Ouch-Town, population YOU, bro.”
16. Who is your mortal enemy?
I enjoy neither Ohio State nor their fans. If you know any, you know why.
17. Favorite decorative possession?
I have a painting hanging lopsided in my apartment that I made this past summer. To give you some insight into my carefully honed skills, my technique consisted of flinging buckets of neon paint at a black painted canvas.
I call it “sexual and violent.” –Wedding Crashers
18. Single/ taken/ it’s complicated?
Single, but such a romantic. Just waiting for Mrs. Right to pop the question. I would be the most excellent house-dad (oh yeah, I cook…if you’re wondering).
19. If you could give one verb of advice for current students what would it be?
Read. Until recent years, I did not take control of my own education by exploring mere curiosities in depth in order to make them legitimate interests. I mainly listened to friends and family and took their advice on what they thought I would excel at academically and professionally. Then I started to get back into books, starting with fun yet insightful texts such as Freakonomics and then expanding to more serious, quasi-philosophical works such as Atlas Shrugged (this one was not a casual read, I put it down about 20 times over 1.5 years before I finally finished it). Books and reading in general are fantastic outlets for gaining knowledge and insight into subjects outside of your curriculum. Its great to have your major and your specialty of focus, but I am a big proponent of maximizing learning outside of the classroom. This is especially true for A&L majors, who have to rely on soft skills (communication, leadership, creativity, project management, etc.) to land jobs, but it is also true for the science and engineering types. Unless you continue to specialize in your field (e.g. PhD in Organic Chemistry), building a broad base of interests and skills is integral directing that winding and twisting path that is your career.
20. What’s your cause?
I’ve done a hodgepodge of activities while at ND, and I do not have one particular cause, but I am all about taking risks in your college career. One way I did this has been through participation in Bengal Bouts. This is a fantastic program that will challenge even the most talented athlete. And it’s for a great cause: raising money for Holy Cross Missions and Education in Bangladesh.
Bengal Bouts Senior year victory lap? I’m considering it.
21. What is the essence of being a Domer?
Finding and meeting people that inspire you to follow your passion. I know, it’s a very trite answer, but there are so many amazingly interesting and passionate people here that it would be a shame if you did not meet someone that sparks something inside you. The Notre Dame network is an immense, wonderful thing. One thing that separates our network from the others is that our alumni really wear our school on their sleeve. Unfortunately, many people in the world despise us for this very fact, but this characteristic is what drives many alumni to take the ND mission with them to their life’s work and mission after graduation.