Dr. David H. Olwell, professor and dean of the Hal and Inge Marcus School of Engineering at Saint Martin’s University, sees assistant professor of civil engineering Dr. Floraliza Bornasal as “simply outstanding.”
Bornasal, an alumna of the engineering school, lives her life by the Benedictine values that permeate the campus, says Olwell.
“She’s helping students understand what it means to place work in an overall context for what they’re trying to do with their lives,” Olwell says. “She’s very helpful in showing that technical competence is important, but framing that in terms of service to the community is why you want to be a civil engineer.”
Bornasal joined the faculty at Saint Martin’s in 2015. While she had a positive undergraduate experience, she also envisioned ways that she could contribute to the university. As she was finishing her doctoral studies, she knew she wanted to enter academia and her alma mater seemed a natural fit.
Her interest in civil engineering began as a high school senior when she wrote a research paper on waste water engineering in the developing world. Her strengths in math and science matched well with the field. During college, her focus became transportation engineering.
Bornasal’s family emigrated from the Philippines when she was seven and grew up in eastern Washington State, where the Asian population was very small. She is a first-generation college student and easily relates with first-gen struggles, which is why she says that it’s essential for her to be accessible to her students.
Her college and graduate studies were financed by a Gates Millennium Scholarship, and, in between college and graduate school, she did a year-long stint with AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service program designed to alleviate poverty.
