Noah Jalbert ’22 Lands His Dream Job
When Noah Jalbert ’22 starts his new job as a field engineer just a week after Commencement, he will put his Keene State experience to work for the company of his dreams. Noah’s BS degree is actually two – he has dual majors, in Construction Management (with a minor in Business Management) and in Architecture. The company is Cianbro, a multi-faceted, employee-owned construction firm based in Pittsfield, Maine.
Noah, a Mainer (or some would say Mainiac) since birth, came to Keene State four years ago with an interest in architecture and engineering, but with no career goal in mind. He struggled a bit with a large class load and homesickness during his first semester, he said, but then hit his stride.
Noah stayed with Architecture but doubled up on Safety Studies and Construction Management courses his junior year, helped by his adviser, Lauren Waterman. He spent many hours on MyKSC planning the right sequences of courses to graduate with two majors.
“If I were giving advice to an incoming student, it would be not to stress about your major, but to explore everything Keene State has to offer, including internships,” Noah says. “So many great people at KSC will help you. You can take a wide variety of courses, so you don’t get tracked in too early.”
One course that surprised Noah was a first-year offering on witchcraft, in the Integrated Thinking and Writing (ITW) curriculum. “It was the only ITW left when I went to sign up. I ended up loving it! We went back in history, long before the Salem witchcraft trials.”
In addition to being a Community Assistant (formerly known as Resident Assistant) in Carle Hall for the last two years, Noah also did a work-study assignment with his Safety Studies professor, Brady Keene. Noah delved into ways to implement augmented and virtual reality programs in the classroom to identify construction safety hazards and do 3D modeling.
“With the headsets, you can ‘walk’ right through the building space you are studying. It’s crazy,” Noah says.
He applied that experience, and his knowledge of the design program Revit, in his capstone project for the Architecture major. Noah and a partner designed a shopping and restaurant addition to a parking garage the City of Keene is considering for Gilbo Avenue in downtown Keene, one of several options for the site.
In the summer of 2021, Noah landed an internship at Cianbro, and knew that was where he wanted to work after graduation. “At the work site in Augusta, the whole team was open to everyone’s input, even mine, although I was only an intern,” Noah explains.
Cianbro’s collaborative environment and opportunities for professional growth impressed Noah, and he focused on the October 2021 college career fair, where he knew he could interview with the company.
“I did several other interviews before Cianbro’s, so I could practice. I learned to relax and be myself. My Cianbro interview went well, and I got a job offer during Christmas break.”
Noah’s start date is May 16. He will live at home in Saco and commute either to Augusta, where he interned last summer, or Portland, where Cianbro will be building a new homeless shelter for the city.
“Working on the shelter would be super rewarding,” Noah said, “something that will have a positive impact on the community.”
As a field engineer, an entry-level position, Noah is poised, he says, to help the construction team in any way the site superintendent requests. With his dual degrees and business minor, Noah may eventually have to choose between working in the field or in the corporate office. He is not stressed about this.
“I’ll just work hard and find my place naturally,” he says with confidence.
