We Are Loureiro: Matt McKenna
February 7th, 2024
If you ask Matt McKenna what his hobbies are, he’ll tell you that as of late his number one hobby has been studying. Matt just earned his Masters of Engineering Degree from the University of California, Riverside, taking classes online, one per quarter, over the last two years.
“The ability to go online, at my own pace, was important to me,” Matt says. “I’m in the field a lot, so I was looking for that type of flexibility. I was fortunate to receive a lot of support from Loureiro while I was earning my Masters.”
Matt’s journey to Loureiro began at a career fair at UConn during his senior year in college. With a love for math and science growing up, he initially started his undergraduate degree as a biomedical engineering major, switching to environmental engineering after his first semester. His path was confirmed as he embarked on a series of internships during his junior and senior years.
“I think it’s important for anyone in school studying engineering to get as many internships as you can in a variety of fields,” Matt says. “Even within the environmental engineering field, there are a lot of different areas of focus. I did internships with the state government and for private industrial companies. These opportunities not only make you a well-rounded engineer, but also help you figure out what you like.”
For Matt, that ended up being consulting. He cites the variety of work, and the fact that every day is a little bit different, as aspects of his career that he truly enjoys.
Matt works within Loureiro’s Facilities Engineering division where he completes both field and office work. His field responsibilities revolve around the operations and maintenance of wastewater treatment systems and remediation systems. He also completes water sampling as part of ongoing design criteria and as a regulatory task in support of Loureiro’s clients.
“One thing that’s unique about Loureiro is the way we can support our clients,” Matt says. ““In the Facilities Engineering division, we can design a system for a client, and we can also do the mechanical installation in-house through our Industrial services division. We’ll routinely benefit from having multiple divisions or departments working on the same project, and that ultimately helps our clients. We provide more than engineering support and design, and this allows clients to lean on us for all of their project needs instead of engaging several different specialized consultants.”
Now that Matt’s finished up his Masters, he’s taking a breather before embarking on his next challenge: his Professional Engineer (PE) exam.
“I’m eligible to take my PE exam in June, so I’ll be launching right back into school mode soon,” says Matt.
