Meet the Officers
Mission Statement
The UNLV student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers provides extremely important value to our members. ASCE encourages the development of a professional consciousness. Civil engineering students practice working together effectively, promoting a spirit of congeniality, and providing friendly contact with the engineering profession. We are able to accomplish this goal by offering opportunities through competitions, industry exposure, leadership, professional development, networking, social events and scholarships. The American Society of Civil Engineers is one of the most prominent engineering organizations in the world. Civil engineers work to improve the lives of everyone. Simply stated, civil engineers are creative, people-serving, and problem-solving leaders who make our lives easier to live from one day to the next. The American Society of Civil Engineers not only reflects on the profession’s rich heritage, but equipped with this knowledge, ASCE continues to develop flexible, forward-thinking plans for the future of the society and the civil engineering profession.
Meet the Officers
Mary Grace Aldave - Chapter President
Mary Grace Aldave is the current Chapter President of the UNLV ASCE Student Chapter. But first and foremost, she is a senior undergraduate student majoring in civil engineering and minoring in math. Though she's been attending ASCE general meetings since she started at UNLV in fall of 2014, her actual involvement in ASCE didn't start until a few weeks before PSWC 2016, where she became part of surveying team last-minute. Her first ASCE conference made a great impact on her--that is, seeing the multiple awards that her fellow UNLV ASCE members were receiving--that encouraged her to become more involved with ASCE. From there, she led the surveying team the following year, and she was the paddling manager of the concrete canoe team the year after. Recently, she was the Captain for the 2018-2019 UNLV Concrete Canoe team.
Apart from ASCE, she was also an officer for several student organizations in the College of Engineering, such as SASE, SWE, and EWB. She is now a student intern at SHG, a Westwood team, a local civil engineering firm. She is excited to be part of this year’s UNLV ASCE Executive Board as its president. With the help of her fellow officers and the guidance of those before them, she hopes to impart the great experience that ASCE had given her to the underclassmen.
Apart from ASCE, she was also an officer for several student organizations in the College of Engineering, such as SASE, SWE, and EWB. She is now a student intern at SHG, a Westwood team, a local civil engineering firm. She is excited to be part of this year’s UNLV ASCE Executive Board as its president. With the help of her fellow officers and the guidance of those before them, she hopes to impart the great experience that ASCE had given her to the underclassmen.
Bernie Espinoza - Vice President
Bernie is working towards becoming a Civil Engineer who will be graduating on the Spring of 2020 from The University Of Nevada Las Vegas (UVLV). Bernie has spent many hours in projects of the American Society Of Civil Engineers at UNLV. In past years he was part of the Concrete Canoe Paddling team, the Steel Bridge team, Surveying and Environmental teams for the Pacific South West Conference. He likes to be part of student organizations such as ACI, EWB and SHPE because it gives him the opportunity to network with all kinds of people. He also likes the diversity at UNLV because it brings all types of backgrounds together. Civil Engineering is challenging at times and there is nothing else that he would rather be doing.
“One day we will make structures that cause the least impact to our environment.”
Alejandro Baez - VP of Events
Alejandro is a junior majoring in Civil Engineering at UNLV. He has always been drawn to the construction world so civil engineering just seemed like the right choice for him. In the future he looks forward to be part in heavy civil construction projects. Ever since high school, his interest towards various aspects of civil engineering and especially construction has grown. Alejandro is also a member of the local ACI, AGC, and NWEA student chapters. He is excited to serve as this year's ASCE officer and is looking forward to having a good year.
LeAnn Chung - VP of Conference
LeAnn is a junior majoring in civil engineering at UNLV. She is also involved with SAE Baja and enjoys being on team-based competitions and projects. As VP of Conference, LeAnn hopes to bring more enthusiastic members to ASCE conferences and improve UNLV's presence and performance at conferences. In past years she has been part of the Steel Bridge and Timber Design teams. LeAnn has been involved in ASCE since the 2017-2018 school year and is excited to interact with past, previous, and future members of the Student Chapter this year!
Edwin Miranda-Jimenez - VP of Fundraising
Edwin is a Civil Engineering major with a minor in U.S. History. As a youngling, he loved looking at tall buildings and watching The History Channel. Now that he is a grown youngling, or in modern societal terms "young adult", he loves to drink iced coffee and dreams of going to Germany one day. If Edwin is not on campus he probably is at a theme park somewhere. Edwin first became involved with ASCE in 2017 and attended his first PSWC Conference in 2019 while helping the Environmental team. As Vice President of Fundraising, Edwin hopes to successfully raise funds by networking and building partnerships with other organizations. Edwilly is excited for this new school year and hopes that other students discover how helpful and exciting it is to be an active member of ASCE.
Ben Dancel - Treasurer
Ben Dancel is a Civil Engineering major currently working on his third year in college. He was mentored in carpentry and construction at a young age, drawing him into the field of Civil Engineering as he grew. Addicted to coffee, Ben spends the majority of his time on campus either studying or volunteering for organizational events. As Treasurer, he is responsible for ASCE's funds, taking care of managing the income and expenses of the organization. He hopes that many students will be able to experience and enjoy being a part of ASCE in the coming years.
John Relato - Corresponding Secretary
My name is John Relato. I have been a member of this student chapter since Fall 2017. I was also last year's VP of Conference. I have been part of the concrete canoe and surveying teams but I am looking to explore other technical events for our upcoming Pacific Southwest Conference. I hope to see new faces join us in our competitions.
Katelyn Sasaki - Recording Secretary
Madison Evans - Historian
Madison is a Sophomore working toward a degree in Mechanical Engineering who hopes to continue on to Biomedical Engineering. One of her favorite aspects of her major is learning how different parts can work together creating a masterpiece. Madison has always enjoyed being hands on and creating new things. By becoming a part of ASCE Madison hopes to balance her academics with networking to help her build a career.
Yvonne Diaz - Representative
Yvonne is a senior working toward a degree in Civil Engineering. From a young age, Yvonne enjoyed going to construction sites and watching projects develop Las Vegas into what is now. As a result, she is determined to take her education and use it to continue to improve the quality of life in the valley. Being a part of ASCE has allowed Yvonne to balance her academics with networking and begin building up her career in the Las Vegas community.
John Feng - Representative
John is a civil engineering major. He participated in the concrete canoe and surveying teams. His main goal as a student officer is to increase member participation in technical event teams for the next student conference.
A student who has been exposed to the industry is a student who is more aware of the opportunities that are out there in the field and who demonstrates a greater level of commitment and dedication to what he or she is interested in.
