Ten fruitful years are now in the books for Aaron Van Proyen at VK Civil! He joined the team in 2015 and has served many clients and communities with experience and commitment.
Like most young adults, Aaron was undecided about which career path to take once he graduated high school. Architecture and computer science were his top choices until he heard about civil engineering from a family friend. Not fully sold on the idea of engineering, Aaron enrolled in Calvin University as a computer science major, while taking engineering classes as a supplement. It was not too long before he realized he enjoyed the engineering courses more than the computer science courses and officially switched his major to a Bachelor of Science in Engineering; the degree he graduated with in 2008.
During his time at Calvin, Aaron took on internships at three different companies, all of which centered around transportation engineering. The third of which was URS Corporation who hired him directly out of college. While Aaron was beginning his professional career at URS, Nate and Rod were founding and trying to grow VK Civil.
When Rod suddenly passed in December of 2014, VK had more work than they could handle, and Nate began reaching out to engineers in the area looking for someone to fill the gap. He contacted a good friend of Aaron, who in turn suggested Nate speak with Aaron about the role, and so he did. It just so happened to be the case that Aaron’s new home was located directly across the street from the VK office! After interviewing with Nate and Todd, Aaron was hired to his current position at VK.
When asked what his most memorable experience was in his career so far, Aaron harkened back to his first days at VK. He was already a licensed professional engineer having practiced in the realm of transportation & traffic engineering for years, but now he was thrust into learning the world of water and sewer engineering. Facing a new environment where he lacked experience, Nate referred to Aaron as a “mature engineer in training” during those first couple of years. Changing tracks later in his career was transformative for Aaron professionally and personally. It forced him to humble himself as a student, being willing to learn and adapt and acknowledge his inexperience in this area. He says that this experience served as a strong reminder to him to maintain humility and flexibility moving forward in his career and life.
While all good engineers continue to learn and grow, Aaron especially embodies the “always learning” mindset and has become an excellent water and sewer engineer at VK. He serves as the township engineer of Jamestown, handles much of VK Civil’s water system modeling, and continues to exercise his chops in the transportation/traffic engineering industry by performing traffic impact studies.
For a brief moment a few years ago, Aaron left VK to work at another engineering firm. After only a week, he regretted his decision and came back to VK with renewed gratefulness for the VK Civil team and culture. We are glad he did! Aaron’s contributions to the team, the communities we serve, and us personally are something to be appreciated and admired. His wealth of knowledge and his energetic and humorous attitude makes for great company and a source of wisdom for fellow professionals and interns alike.
Thank you, Aaron, for ten years and counting at VK Civil! This year, we recognize your hard work, dedication, and positive impact, and look forward to serving with you for years to come!
