Tell me your story…

My name is Kyle Johnson, and I am a rising Junior in the CEM program. I grew up in Natick Massachusetts and chose Purdue for its amazing engineering school along with its strong campus culture. Growing up in Natick I worked for my stepfather who owned his own residential construction company. Through high school, I grew up building and remodeling houses and that is where I found my passion for construction. At Purdue, I am involved and serve on the executive board of Beta Tau, and the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. I enjoy spending time with friends, along with cheering on the boilermakers at various football and basketball games. I interned last summer at Barletta Heavy Civil working on a train yard and station remodel on a government project in Boston. Currently, I am interning in Chicago as a project manager intern for Arco/Murray. I am working and learning more about the daily roles of a PM to keep a project running while delivering excellent service to our owners.

What is your official role + duties in the Beta Tau Fraternity?

I am the current Secretary for Beta Tau Fraternity. I am responsible for going to all meetings, taking notes from all meetings, helping plan our spring banquet, and contributing to the overall success of Beta Tau.

What events does Beta Tau contribute to in CEM?

Beta Tau’s biggest event is planning the spring CEM banquet. Beta Tau helps plan various education construction trips along with helping CEM staff with any activity. Also, Beta Tau plans other social events for CEM, that help connect all CEM members.

What have you learned in Beta Tau that will be useful in your internships / future career? 

Exposure to different construction sites and listening to your peers’ experiences in their internships are one of the most useful benefits of Beta Tau. One big problem I have seen is the lack of knowledge students have in the construction industry. When working on projects you will deal with superintendents or subcontractors that have extensive years of experience and knowledge in the industry. Whether in the classroom or on a physical site, Beta Tau and the CEM program does a tremendous job allowing students to properly learn and expand their knowledge of Construction.

What benefits do you have being a Beta Tau leader/member?

I would say the friendships and relationships you form in Beta Tau is one of the most important skills you can get from this club. In life in general I feel that it is all who you know and growing your network will allow for more opportunities to come. All members of Beta Tau are driven and hardworking leaders, and being able to use our peers as a resource for help in the professional world will have an astronomical impact.