Jesse Ekanya has a firm background in engineering and a dedication to sustainable development. He is a master’s student in Civil & Environmental Engineering (MS CEE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - where he secured his Bachelor\s in Civil Engineering (BEng). 

Jesse brings with him invaluable experience from his time at Michael Baker International and Crawford, Murphy & Tilly. During these internships, Jesse developed his structural analysis, design, and project management skills. He has received the Charles E Deleuw Scholarship and the Richard Jaccoud Scholarships and developed his innovative skillset at the Real-Time Automated Monitoring and Control Lab (RAAMAC) under Professor Mani Golpavar. Additionally, Jesse’s second-place finish in the Uganda National Mathematics Contest and national representation at the International Mathematics Olympiad highlights his mathematical exception. 

At the University of Illinois, Jesse has served as Vice President of the Structural Engineering Association Student Chapter. As the Junior Corporate Director for the Engineering Open House Committee, the largest university STEM event in the United States, Jesse and his team secured $35,000 in funding from Caterpillar, John Deere, and Chevron (among others) to support the event’s organisation, which eventually attracted over 40,000 attendees.