As someone who has been involved with the construction industry for many years, Erin possesses a lot of passion for her field, which she instills in her students.
For Erin Vitale, one of the best parts about working in the construction industry is being able to see the finished product, and knowing that she had a hand in its creation.
Similarly, one of the best parts about being a teacher for Erin is seeing what her students have been able to achieve after graduating from Alfred State College, and knowing that she hand a hand in shaping their paths.
Since she was hired in 2001 as an adjunct instructor, Erin has helped numerous students construct bright futures for themselves, thanks in part to the skills and knowledge she acquired in the field prior to becoming a member of the Alfred State faculty.
After earning her master’s in civil engineering, construction engineering and management from Stanford University in 1995, Erin began working at Kiewit as an engineer in the Estimating Department. In this job, she performed estimating work on large tunneling projects and served as the schedule engineer on the Green Line Subway Expansion in Washington, DC.
In 1996, Erin joined Ciminelli-Cowper Co., Inc., a construction company in Buffalo, as an estimator, scheduling coordinator and project engineer. Two years after joining Ciminelli-Cowper, Erin became the vice president of Vitale Contractors, Inc. in Piffard, a small site work contracting business she and her husband owned. She remained at Ciminelli-Cowper until 2001, and VP of her company until 2010.
In the spring of 2001, Erin transitioned into a teaching role when she was hired as an adjunct professor at Alfred State. She became an assistant professor in the fall of that year. Erin is now a full professor and has been serving as chair of the Civil Engineering Technology Department since January 2016.
For Erin, the students are the best part of her job.
“I like getting to know them and it makes me super happy when they get jobs they’re excited about,” she said. “If I can have any impact on them, and maybe they’re a little bit more successful because of something they learned in one of my classes, I’m happy about that.”
As someone who has been involved with the construction industry for many years, Erin possesses a lot of passion for her field, which she instills in her students.
“Construction is a great industry,” she said. “You get to point at a physical thing when you are done and say, ‘I helped. I was a part of that.’”
Similarly, one of the best things about teaching is getting tangible results. When Erin sees her former students go on to land the jobs they want, be involved in numerous impressive projects, and achieve great success in their field, she can smile proudly, knowing that, in some way, she helped and was a part of that.