Maria Drawbaugh, E.I.T.

Maria is a bridge design engineer and inspector at Michael Baker International. She joined the company following her graduation in 2021 from Temple University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree. She is a certified Engineer-In-Training and is working toward obtaining her Professional Engineer (P.E.) license.

Maria is passionate about helping others, building bridges and learning about geography—a perfect combination for the Fika team. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Maria is the youngest of five children and the first engineer in her family. In her free time, she enjoys playing basketball, drawing and painting.

Fun fact: Maria enjoys artistic hobbies, including painting her nails with intricate designs.

How will this experience impact you in your work moving forward?

This project has taught me invaluable construction experience. I design bridges, so this directly impacts my daily work. Going back to the bare bones of bridge construction, using all hand tools, highlighted the technical core of bridge design for me. However, in working with the team I was reminded what a bridge really is. Bridges connect people, communities and opportunities. They create safe passage for real people. They are a human structure. I’d like to take that sentiment with me through the rest of my career.