Spotlight: Alyssa Sooklal, BS '17

Meet Alyssa Sooklal, BS '17

Program: Bachelor of Science, Environmental Engineering 
Graduation year: 2017 
LinkedIn Profile 
Fun fact: " I am weirdly good at swatting flies.” 

Alyssa Sooklal has been working as a water resource engineer since she earned her bachelor of science in environmental engineering in 2017. She works for the civil engineering firm McCormick Taylor in Baltimore. Her responsibilities include stormwater management design, drainage design, erosion and sediment control design, 1D/2D modeling, floodplain and watershed assessments, stormwater management inspections, and construction oversight.  

How did your time at Hopkins prepare you for your career in environmental engineering? 

I work in civil engineering, but my environmental engineering degree program was so comprehensive in terms of general engineering as well as water topics such as fluid mechanics and hydrology. I had no trouble slipping into my water resources engineering role.  

What’s cool about my job is that I get to do a lot of design and modeling work, but I also get to do a lot of hands-on fieldwork, such as inspections and construction oversight. I’m able to work across disciplines with other departments and I know a little bit about all aspects of civil engineering, even if my primary niche is water resources engineering. 

What’s cool about my job is that I get to do a lot of design and modeling work, but I also get to do a lot of hands-on fieldwork, such as inspections and construction oversight. I’m able to work across disciplines.

My senior design project, which was heavily focused on stormwater management, greatly prepared me for my job, which involves stormwater management and drainage design. My classes in the EHE department were both valuable for my career and enriching. My research opportunity with Sarah Preheim opened my eyes to different types of water-based analysis, which I draw upon every now and then in my field. The opportunities I had at JHU boosted me to where I am today in my career, seven years later! 

What was your favorite thing about living in Baltimore? 

There are so many things that I loved about living in Baltimore and going to JHU. I lived on-campus for two years and off-campus (nearby) for two years. I love that JHU is so close to great areas in Baltimore like the Inner Harbor, Mount Vernon, Little Italy, Harbor East, and Fells Point. Many excursions and sights were only a free bus trip away. JHU made major points in Baltimore City very accessible via the Blue Jay shuttle, which was very helpful as a young student. The Baltimore metro, MARC train, and Amtrak were also very accessible, which made trips to Washington, D.C., and other neighboring cities very easy. Living on the JHU Homewood campus taught me how to use public transportation, and to this day, I try to use public transportation as much as possible. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Views expressed are the subject's own. 

Environmental Health and Engineering is a cross-divisional department spanning the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering. This hybrid department is uniquely designed to lead pioneering research and prepare the next generation of scholars to solve critical and complex issues at the interface of public health and engineering. Learn more about our programs.