CIM Student Profile

Eliana Aguilar

School: California State University, Chico

Class: 2020

Hometown: Oxnard, CA

Expected Date of Graduation: Dec. 2020

“The combination of both classwork and my internship experiences has given me a great deal of insight about the concrete and construction industries.”

Eliana Aguilar, a senior from Oxnard, CA., plans to graduate from the CIM program in Dec. 2020. She chose California State University, Chico because of its beautiful campus and physical distance from her hometown. She originally entered Chico State in the fall of 2016 as a psychology major, later changing her major to social work. After a conversation with a campus outreach specialist, she enrolled in “Introduction to Concrete” and later officially declared CIM as her major course of study. Since then, Eliana has taken every opportunity to get and stay connected with her peers, faculty and leaders in the concrete industry.   

 The CIM program works with partners in the concrete industry providing summer internships for students. During Eliana’s time at Chico State, she has had the opportunity intern with PCL Construction in Los Angeles, which included working on a project at UCLA Southwest campus apartments. “The combination of both classwork and my internship experiences has given me a great deal of insight about the concrete and construction industries,” commented Eliana. I have really enjoyed seeing both the management side of the job as well as experiencing the actual construction on the site.” During the summer of 2018, she also had the opportunity to work with Dr. Mohammed Albahttiti researching the effect of biomass ash and cementitious replacements on air content in concrete. Through this research, she learned how to mix and perform several tests on concrete.    

Aguilar’s leadership and her passion for work in the concrete industry has opened doors for her future. She was one of three Chico State students selected to speak about her internship at World of Concrete, the commercial construction industry’s largest annual international event for concrete and masonry professionals, allowing her to expand her professional network and experience further.   

Eliana’s advice: 

Get involved and do not be afraid to ask questions. A goal of mine this coming academic year is to make underclassmen feel welcome and encourage them to get involved from the very beginning.