Drafting Her Start: Engineering Grad Begins Career at one of Alabama's Largest Firms

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Posted on September 30, 2024

Thomas Becnel

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#MyFirstJob is a series focused on recent graduates of the University of South Alabama.

For Mia Sarafijanovic, the University of South Alabama offered a smooth career path into the field of civil engineering.

She became active in the American Society of Civil Engineers and was elected president of the campus chapter. That led to several college internships. The final one was at Thompson Engineering, which offered her a full-time job after graduation in May.

鈥淚 was very excited to work with ASCE for three years,鈥� said Sarafijanovic, 23. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the reasons I met so many people and had these opportunities.鈥�

At the Thompson Engineering office in Daphne, she鈥檚 an engineering associate working with Nick Combs, who graduated from South in 2019. They鈥檙e part of a job pipeline crossing Mobile Bay. She does a lot of computer-assisted design work for construction projects in Baldwin County.

鈥淢ost of my days are spent with Nick,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e鈥檒l show me how to do something and explain everything along the way.鈥�

After work, Sarafijanovic spends a few hours each day studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, a state licensing test. That鈥檚 part of her job, too. When she completes that test, she鈥檒l begin preparing for the Professional Engineering exam.

鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to do that one next year,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o get it out of the way.鈥�

Sarafijanovic鈥檚 family is from Bosnia, but her parents left Sarajevo when war broke out in the 1990s. She was born in Detroit and lived in California, Missouri and Florida.

鈥淢y parents always wanted to do something new,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey loved it in America. St. Louis was full of Bosnians when we lived there. English is my second language, but we always mixed it in a lot. We still do that. In one sentence, it鈥檒l be half-English and half-Bosnian.鈥�

At East Lake High School, north of Tampa, her mother encouraged her to try an engineering program. It was a good fit. After visiting her older sister in Mobile, she decided to study engineering at South.

Sarafijanovic never planned on joining a sorority, but a Bosnian friend led her to Phi Mu, which became her second home during the Covid pandemic. It helped round out her college experience.

鈥淚 loved staying busy, doing sorority stuff, intramural sports and things on campus,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou had your own room, but you never had to be alone, and I kind of liked that. I have my engineering friends, and my friends from Phi Mu, and we all hang out. They all kind of know each other.鈥�

Sarafijanovic went on to become the first member of her family to graduate from college.

鈥淔ourteen people, including family friends from Atlanta and St. Louis, came to my graduation ceremony,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey all stayed at my house, which was crazy, but it was a lot of fun.鈥�

After graduation, she spent two months traveling through Italy, Slovakia and Croatia, where her parents retired. Then she returned to work in Daphne, where Sarafijanovic spends most of her day working with drafting software such as Bentley and AutoCAD.

This helps explain why she jumps at any chance to do field work. She鈥檚 learning that you can鈥檛 always trust maps and surveys. There鈥檚 value to walking a job site and making sure everything is where it鈥檚 supposed to be. 

鈥淓very time we start a new project, I want to get out there,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about that. Seeing things up close.鈥�

 

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