Alumnus Ed Copeland says Purdue Civil Engineering not only gave him the education necessary to succeed, but opened professional doors for him as well.

Copeland (BSCE ’83, MSCE ’88) serves as principal engineer and vice president of Arcadis — a global design, engineering and management consulting company with more than 350 offices in 40 countries. It is the twelfth-largest company of its kind in the world with more than 27,000 employees. Copeland has been with the company for 17 years.

He has also been a regular golfer at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering’s annual CE Open for over a decade. “I love coming out to this event every year,” he says. “Attending Purdue was a very special time for me, and I always enjoy coming back to campus whenever I can.”

Copeland has had a successful 30-plusyear career since earning his degrees from Purdue. However, he says, his path may not have been the same if not for the incredible and caring faculty — namely Professor Jim Etzel.

“I remember I was getting set to graduate and I didn’t have a job lined up yet, so I was considering getting my master’s degree right away,” Copeland says. “I was talking to Jim about it and he said, ‘Would you like to get a job instead? I can help you out.’”

Copeland says he eagerly accepted Etzel’s help — and, in short order, he was interviewing for a job at General Motors.

“He said he just needed to make a call,” Copeland says. “When I went there for the interview, I practically already had the job. Jim was so well-respected there; they trusted his recommendation of me. I went to work for the company shortly thereafter.”

Copeland pursued his master’s degree in civil engineering a few years later. He went on to work for Heritage Environmental Services as senior project engineer in 1988 and then at IT Corporation as principal engineer in 1996. In 2000, Copeland found his new professional home at Arcadis.

“It’s been wonderful working there,” Copeland said. “And it’s thanks to what I learned at Purdue and from Jim. He really emphasized the applied science of engineering and that has been instrumental to my success.”