My name is Josiah Duke, I’m a junior studying at UNM to be a civil engineer. I grew up in an off-the-grid home in Taos New Mexico with my parents. My father played volleyball at USC and now coaches college volleyball. My mother played volleyball for Stanford and now works as the treasurer for Earthship biotecture. Having these role models in my life inspired me to work hard as an honors student and an athlete. In high school, I was a basketball player, ski racer, and ran track. My hard work in high school helped to prepare me for college and pursue a career in civil engineering. 

I’ve wanted to be an engineer since I was a kid. As I grew up, I started getting more involved and interested in construction. This interest is partially because I grew up in an Earthship, which is an off-the-grid home made from recycled materials. I was always interested in how intricate the design is, and I worked to expand on it. I used to work with my father on projects in which we would mix concrete, woodwork, and work on our roof to improve our home. That was when I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in civil engineering. After working and improving my home I knew that I was interested in doing this for a career. 

At the moment, I am working as a laboratory assistant with Dr. Losada-Rojas and an academic assistant at the engineering student success center at UNM. Here I have met and worked with many amazing students and individuals whom I share similar goals with. At the engineering student success center I connect to other employers at engineering firms to find internships that will help me settle into my career in the future. As a laboratory assistant I am researching the effects of window tint on car windows and hopefully our research can produce impactful outcomes. I have also joined the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and have been a member since my freshman year. The men that I have met have been an excellent influence on me. As a college student having like-minded disciplined men to keep me accountable has been great to form good study habits. Now that I am older, I try to do the same for the younger men who are now joining so I can help them in their careers. 

After 3 years of studying civil engineering, I have decided to pursue a career in transportation engineering. Now that I have been hired to help with undergrad research I can begin to delve deeper into my interest, now with the help of Dr. Losada-Rojas I am researching the effects of car window tints on reaction times. New Mexico was stated to be one of the most dangerous states to drive in, in 2022, and in 2023 407 people died in traffic fatalities. New Mexico also is extremely relaxed when it comes to tinted window policies, allowing VLT as low as 20% on cars. Conducting this research will hopefully help change the laws in New Mexico for the allowable VLT (visible light transmittance) on car windows. Hopefully research like this will help New Mexico become a safer place to drive in.