DYAN DAMRON
’98
TRAFFIC ENGINEERING & PLANNING MANAGER, VOLKERT, INC. Dyan Damron knows communication, networking and relationship building don’t always come easily to students looking to enter the engineering field.
That’s why the traffic engineer works so hard to mentor others and help them develop the skills they’ll need for success beyond a facility with math, science and a set of blueprints. “I was blessed with a couple of really good mentors when I started,” said Damron, a traffic engineer and planning manager for the engineering consultants Volkert Inc., which works with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Nashville-area local entities. “That’s important because the classroom is so much different than a career.” Damron’s career has been nudged along by the support and advice of those ahead of her; now she pays it forward by talking to BGA students and recent graduates whenever she can. 32
BATTLE G R OUND A C ADEMY
“I feel like if you’re in math or science class, kids will sometimes feel there’s no connection between what they’re learning and the real world,” she said, noting that
BGA is such a small school, every time you see somebody out and about, you still feel like friends even if you weren’t in school together because it’s such a small community of people. engineering is very much a field where math and science are put to practical use every day. “I like to help kids understand what
they want to do and why they want to do it.” Lessons often learned outside the classroom, such as the importance of good communication, often are just as important – if not more so – than GPA, Damron said, and the connections provided by a tight-knit school like BGA can prove invaluable. “BGA is such a small school, every time you see somebody out and about, you still feel like friends even if you weren’t in school together because it’s such a small community of people,” she said. “It opens up so many more doors that you may not know. Whether or not you know them personally, it makes that connection for you.”