Ten years ago, Alex Mollenkamp was in her last semester of college at the University of Minnesota when she participated in an RCP class project that gave her the confidence she could build a great career.
“RCP helped solidify that municipal engineering is the type of work I want[ed] to do,” she said. “It made me realize, yeah, I do like this. It's interesting, it's relevant, and it’s something I want to stick with.”
In spring 2014, Mollenkamp and two other students in Dr. John Gulliver’s Urban Hydrology course in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering were assigned to develop a stormwater quality improvement plan for the City of North St. Paul. That year, RCP worked with North St. Paul on a total of 16 projects that engaged 35 courses and 18 academic departments at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Duluth campuses, and provided hands-on, applied research opportunities to more than 300 graduate and undergraduate students.
The stormwater project aimed to address localized flooding and high levels of phosphorus, which can kill aquatic life and reduce water quality, in the Kohlman Creek subwatershed. The students examined city infrastructure during site visits, used computer-modeling software to analyze potential solutions, and did pen-and-paper math calculations to assess costs for each.
Their final recommendation to the City was to use a more efficient street sweeper and to increase how often streets were swept. The reason? Plant matter such as grass clippings and autumn leaves that end up in city streets produce phosphorus as they decompose. Simply sweeping city streets a few more times per year can remove much of this plant matter before it ends up in local water bodies.
“It was a real experience, using real dollars, that made a difference,” Mollenkamp said. “The reason we all go into civil engineering or municipal engineering is to make a more livable or safe community. To have a chance to do that while I was still in school was really special.”
The experience also led to her first job after graduation. The project lead for the North St. Paul project, whom the city contracted from a local civil engineering firm to serve as the city engineer, hired Mollenkamp to work at the firm, where she continued collaborating on municipal projects with North St. Paul. Part of her role was to recruit new talent for the firm at career fairs. Her biggest advice for students interested in engineering: find a way to get experience through an internship or by taking an experiential learning course with an RCP project.
Today, Mollenkamp is assistant city engineer for the City of Chaska with a decade of experience and is teaming up with RCP again. Chaska has five RCP projects for the upcoming 2024–2025 academic year, including one Mollenkamp is leading that will consider traffic calming approaches on key city roadways.
Working with RCP now “reminds me how far I've come,” Mollenkamp reflected. “I’m able to look back on where I was as an undergraduate and say, ‘wow, I know a lot more now.’ I get to pass that along to someone else, even though I don't have the answer to this particular problem.” She is excited to work with students, whom she hopes will bring new energy, curiosity, and insight to the City’s approach, leading to safer city streets for residents.