College of Engineering Award Recipients
Young Alumna of the Year Award
STEPHANIE GOPLIN OLSSON, P.E., P.T.O.E., ENG '00
Menomonee Falls, Wis.
Two years after graduating from Marquette with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in civil engineering, Stephanie Olsson co-founded her own traffic engineering specialty company, Traffic Analysis & Design Inc. Today, with offices in three states and clients including private development and the state and federal governments, the firm has twice been listed among Inc. magazine鈥檚 fastest-growing U.S. companies.
Stephanie鈥檚 secret? Customer service. 鈥淚n this field, it鈥檚 imperative to be extremely responsive to your clients鈥� needs and follow through on commitments,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e have a great team of engineers and technicians that make the company exceptional.鈥�
Speaking of exceptional, Stephanie lauds Marquette for giving future engineers real-world experience before graduation.
鈥淭he College of Engineering has an amazing Co-op Program,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 got my first traffic engineering job that way and made many exceptional contacts whom I still speak with frequently. Marquette also does an excellent job of introducing students into professional networks.鈥�
And Stephanie has certainly made the most of those networks, serving as affiliate director of the Wisconsin chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and a member of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honor society.
Long term, Stephanie would like to teach at the college level. She already has a good start 鈥� she鈥檚 a guest instructor at Marquette, the University of Wisconsin鈥揗adison, the University of Wisconsin鈥揗ilwaukee and through work.
鈥淢y favorite part of running my business is teaching and mentoring young engineers,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 find it very rewarding to see what others can achieve.鈥�
Fun facts: Stephanie鈥檚 favorite quote is from Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton: 鈥淥utstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.鈥� She鈥檇 love to have dinner with NBA coach Phil Jackson.
