A young woman is seated on an upside down, concrete canoe. She is wearing a grey shirt, light blue jeans, and light grey shoes. She has curly hair.

Morgan Klover, a senior in civil engineering from Decatur, Illinois, sits on one of the concrete canoes made by students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Klover has been named one of the New Faces of Civil Engineering-College by the American Society of Civil Engineering. (Photo by Russell Bailey)

May 22, 2024

SIU engineering student among 10 ‘New Faces’ in her field in the U.S.

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. – A national professional engineering organization has named a Southern Illinois University Carbondale student to an elite group.

Morgan Klover, a senior in civil engineering from Decatur, Illinois, has been named to the 2024 New Faces of Civil Engineering-College by the American Society of Civil Engineering. The ASCE names just 10 students nationwide to its annual list, which honors outstanding engineers of tomorrow and comes with a scholarship of up to $1,000.

Klover said civil engineers have the ability to change what future communities look like and that she hopes to make a difference in her career.

“I wanted to be a civil engineer to be able to work on the renewable energy infrastructure and to create projects where I can see the impact they have on the community,” Klover said. “I chose SIU because the campus made me feel the most at home, and I liked the lake and woods on campus.  It has a great size, location and cost.”

Klover credited participation in the SIU ASCE student chapter since her freshman year with giving her a jump start in developing leadership skills, which led to her election as chapter president for 2023. She’s also active on SIU’s concrete canoe and steel bridge teams, Engineers Without Borders and the Society of Women Engineers.

After graduation, Klover plans to earn a master’s degree in structural engineering before beginning her professional career.

“I want to become a licensed professional engineer and a licensed structural engineer in the future,” Klover said. “SIU has given me the opportunity to meet and talk with professional engineers in order to help me decide which path I want to choose in civil engineering. ASCE and SWE have been a big part of my career growth in college.”