Levi Madden has returned to where his career first started. At least, for two days.

Madden recently returned to Missouri University of Science and Technology for the Fall 2024 Career Fair as a recruiter. It is a familiar location, as he was in the same building that he graduated in two years earlier.

“I really liked having a lot of similarly motivated people at S&T during my time as a student,” says Madden. “A lot of my friends were in STEM fields like me. Not many university dorms will have a white board in the living room so people can quickly make mechanical drawings for creative ideas.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Missouri S&T in 2022, Madden joined JE Dunn Construction Co. – a construction firm that he first spoke with at a S&T Career Fair as a student and then joined as an intern.

“I interviewed during the pandemic years, so all Career Fair interviews were online during that time,” says Madden. “I joined JE Dunn as an intern and liked the company, then discovered I was more interested in a different position with them. I pursed a full-time role with them and they helped me to shift into my preferred career path.”

He now works as a field engineer and helps to manage building installations for the company. He is currently working on several new information technology buildings in Texas.

Designing a career

As a Missouri S&T student, Madden was a founding member and first president of the combat robotics student design team. He says he came to the university with the idea to create the team – along with three friends who came with him from his high school.

In 2021, the team competed for the first time and earned second place out of 26 teams at BotsKC, an industry-driven robotic fighting competition held in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to earning second place overall, S&T’s team earned third in robot battles and first in engineering documentation. This was the team’s first robot build and first year competing.

“My design team experience really gave me a leg up in the workforce and getting my internship,” says Madden. “Building those communication and leadership skills were massive. I also think my time on the design team was some of my favorite time at the university.”

Madden is now an advisor for S&T’s combat robotics student design team and says he looks forward to returning to campus more in the future. He isn’t alone in wanting to return, as all six of JE Dunn’s recruiters were Missouri S&T alumni, including:

• Sara Meeks, who earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering in 2011 and an MBA in 2012
• Sean Perryman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering management in 2021
• Dylan Reiter, who earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural and civil engineering in 2024
• Harper Thomsen, who earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2023
• Jason Williams, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2006.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.