Page 4 - Sigma Star Spring 2015

You recently journeyed to Alaska for Bankston (Continued from Page 1) your 10-year anniversary – what was your trip like? research with a My husband and I had a couple of number of national milestones the past two years (40th e n v i r o n m e n t a l birthdays, 10th anniversary) so we used the consulting frms. opportunity to enjoy a couple of ‘bucket He recommended list’ trips – to Ireland and then Alaska. me to a couple Ireland is so friendly and energetic but of frms and I with an old soul. We limited ourselves i n t e r v i e w e d . to the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska for this One offer was in trip, anticipating we will travel there Annika checking chemical Pasadena, CA and again with our sons when they are older. dose logs at one of the one was in Akron, We enjoyed so many moments that made Minneapolis Water plants. OH. Believe it or us pause with wonder and appreciation Annika and Jamie touring Kenai Fjords National not, I chose Akron for our natural world. A couple favorites Park in the Gulf of Alaska in July 2014. because I connected well with my supervisor included kayaking by a huge bull moose who was tasked with re-invigorating the drinking contentedly munching on reeds after we water practice in the region. I started at the small had just witnessed the frenzy of hundreds How do you stay in touch with your Alpha 12-person offce with another woman just out of of dying, bright red salmon trying to reach the Delta Pi sisters today? college who is still a dear friend (she now also headwaters of a tiny stream to start the cycle Being geographically remote from many of my lives in the Twin Cities). If there was fun to be of life. Or, being privileged (and a little sad) very good friends, this is hard. I tried Facebook had in Akron, we found it! to witness the moment a 300-foot section of for a couple of years but found it didn’t suit me. What kind of projects have you worked on? glacier calved into the sea, hearing the roar, Another challenge is the phase of life most of and feeling its massive weight in the power of us are in; with kids in elementary through high A good thing about starting a career in a big the waves that rocked our boat. school, fnding time for get-togethers is hard. consulting company is the variety of projects I do take solace in knowing that when we do you work on. I worked on both the drinking Outside of work what do you do for fun? get together, we fall so easily into the fun and water and wastewater side of the pipe. Early Our family enjoys Minnesota outdoors to the rewarding rhythms of friendship; it’s like we in consulting I did a lot of work on hydraulic fullest, camping, canoeing, and especially were living together at 1202 W. Nevada again. modeling of combined sewer systems. These fshing. We have a fshing boat that we get out When a large group of us returned for Sigma’s are typically older systems that were originally on at least every other weekend in the summer. 100th anniversary a couple of years ago, it felt designed to convey both storm runoff and This past winter, our boys and I joined my like a Friday night in 1994 all over again. I think sewage to the rivers when people didn’t know husband on some ice fshing trips as well. I’m of this as a maintenance phase of those long- any better. The challenge is how to get the also enjoying this relatively short window of distance friendships. The opportunity to grow relatively clean storm run-off to rivers while time when my sons still look up to me on the those bonds of friendship deeper and in new ways keeping the sewage heading to the wastewater driveway basketball court or touch football feld. will be there when new chapters of our lives start. treatment plants. I was also involved on design It’s fun to teach a backdoor cut with a beautiful teams tasked with updating 100-year old bounce pass and have your six-year-old execute What advice can you give the alumnae fltration plants, and then worked in the feld it perfectly against his older brother! I like to and actives about relocating for a chance on pilot testing of advanced drinking water dabble in gardening – keeping a small vegetable at success? treatment systems. It was this last work that garden and somewhat ambitious landscaping in Trust in the advice of others you respect. When led me to Minneapolis, where I served as the front of our house – I’m either coaxing some looking at new career opportunities consider why on-site pilot test engineer for an ultrafltration perennials to grow or taming others. The Twin an organization exists (not just what it does or how membrane system they were planning to use in Cities has a great theater and live music scene it does it). Make sure your beliefs align with that lieu of more conventional granular media flters. that I look forward to re-engaging with once ‘why’ so you can fnd a sense of purpose. Try new Now that you are with the City of babysitters are not a requirement for each things and enjoy the unique opportunities any area evening out. Even better will be to expose our has to offer. Find kindred spirits. Stretch yourself. Minneapolis, what makes your work special? sons to those scenes as well. Find reasons to say “yes.” In consulting, you often get to work on the preliminary planning or design of a project but then you move on to another project. What led amazed again at the way YOUR legacy me to return to and stay with Minneapolis (in Housing (Continued from Page 1) continues on in the chapter today. When addition to the desire to be near my now husband), we talk at recruitment about “fnding your was the chance to operate and optimize one of best parts of this for me was the opportunity replacement,” it seems that’s something the largest ultrafltration membrane plants in the to attend a chapter meeting and see once Sigma really takes to heart. As I sat at the world. I moved on from the engineering group again how little has changed while so much front of the room, I could look around and into management. Now it’s not about delivering has! Paper agendas are a thing of the past, fnd the “twins” of ladies who were in the successful projects, but about building a better as the chapter is able to utilize a large TV chapter during my time. It’s really almost utility for now and in the future. Larger, older connected to a computer presentation to eerie! And yet, it also lends such a warm cities in the U.S., Minneapolis included, must follow along with an electronic agenda sense of familiarity and family. The chapter determine how to manage assets that were built during the business portion of the meeting. is still as rich and diverse as I remember 50 to 100 years ago – Repair? Replace? How Luckily though, not only do they still do it, and it’s heartwarming to see that legacy to fund the needs? I’ve now been in public “Violets” but they also do them the “old- stand the test of time. service for 12 years, providing safe drinking fashioned” way, writing them by hand. :) I hope you will visit Sigma and experience water to half a million people and being a Oh, and before the meeting, a fraternity it for yourself soon! steward of millions of dollars’ worth of public came and serenaded the women during Love and Violets, infrastructure. It is easy to remember my sense dinner. Talk about being instantly of purpose each day. My career is lucrative in a transported back to my college days! Wow. different way that I envisioned when I was 17. Every time I attend a chapter event I am Shannon Sandovol ’94 Alumni communication services provided by Te Laurus Group | www.thelaurusgroup.net | 770-903-3987 | @thelaurusgroup