{"id":27218,"date":"2013-04-30T16:26:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-30T21:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=27218"},"modified":"2016-07-28T14:35:13","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T19:35:13","slug":"recent-civil-engineering-graduate-starting-own-consulting-firm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/recent-civil-engineering-graduate-starting-own-consulting-firm\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent civil engineering graduate starting own consulting firm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

University of Mississippi School of Engineering graduate Chas Smithers began Laird Smithers Inc., an engineering consulting firm in Jackson, Miss., in August 2012.<\/p><\/div>\n

OXFORD, Miss. \u2013 Chas Smithers (BSCE 04) <\/em>credits the School of Engineering with preparing him to earn his master\u2019s degree from Georgia Tech and setting him on the fast track to owning and operating his own consulting firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoyed Georgia Tech, but Ole Miss is always where my heart will be,\u201d said Smithers, a Grenada native who last August started Laird Smithers Inc., an engineering consulting firm in Jackson. He and partner Jeff Laird specialize in structural design consulting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have worked on a wide variety of project types, including schools, offices, courthouses, water and wastewater treatment plants,\u201d Smithers said. \u201cAlthough we enjoy the variety of projects we are able to work on, our firm is especially known for historic renovations and repairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smithers said he is especially fond of two projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile working in Atlanta, I was fortunate enough to work on Target Field, the new Minnesota Twins baseball stadium. That was always a dream of mine to work on a sports stadium since I am such a sports fanatic,\u201d Smithers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecondly, I was the structural engineer of record for the first building of Insight Park at Ole Miss. It was an incredible feeling to design a building on a campus that is so special to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of his Ole Miss educational experience, Smithers said he was as ready as he could have been when entering Georgia Tech, recognized as one of the country\u2019s top civil engineering programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was as prepared, if not more so, than the students who attended Georgia Tech for their undergraduate degree. That is a credit to the great engineering school that we have at Ole Miss,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After graduation from Georgia Tech in 2005, Smithers worked for a large, nationally recognized structural engineering firm in Atlanta for three years. He and his wife, Amanda, upon the birth of their first child, decided they wanted to be closer to home and moved to Jackson, where he worked for a regional, multidiscipline engineering firm for four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have yet to come across one person that I felt inferior to because of my education at Ole Miss,\u201d Smithers said. \u201cIn fact, quite the opposite. It is as good as any engineering education that you can receive, second to none. It is definitely something that I am extremely proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

While at Ole Miss, Smithers received the Mississippi Engineering Society Outstanding Senior Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was not just an award for me, but in my mind it was an award for the entire civil engineering department,\u201d he said. \u201cI was able to represent the entire School of Engineering at a banquet that recognized an engineering student from each school in the state. I was also extremely honored to receive the Taylor Medal, which is the highest academic award one can receive at Ole Miss. Both awards are a credit to the great faculty that we have in the civil engineering department.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marni Kendricks, a former classmate of Smithers and assistant dean of undergraduate studies in the School of Engineering, fondly recalled Smithers\u2019 personality and activities as a student.<\/p>\n

\u201cChas stands out in my memory from my CE undergraduate days as a scholar, a gentleman and a leader,\u201d she said. \u201cCalm, confident, capable, committed to excellence from the word go. Really enjoyed my classes with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smithers returned to campus recently to talk to the Senior Design and Introduction to Civil Engineering classes twice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an honor that the professors think enough of me to allow me to come share with their students,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Remembering back to when he was a young student himself, Smithers said that he was unsure what he wanted to major in when he graduated from high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always enjoyed math and science, as well as solving problems, so engineering was a logical choice,\u201d he said. \u201dI visited several schools while deciding where to attend college. After visiting Ole Miss, my decision was easy. Being on campus, it just felt like home; everyone was extremely nice. The fact that it was a smaller ratio of students to teachers was another plus. This ended up playing a big part in my education. I knew each of the teachers by name, and they knew mine. They were always willing to help me if I had a question.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days, when not working, Smithers enjoys playing golf, duck hunting and spending time with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been married to my beautiful wife for almost nine years, and we have two wonderful children: Savannah, 5, and Wyatt, 2,\u201d he said. \u201cMy family means the world to me. Without their love and support, there is no way I would be where I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OXFORD, Miss. \u2013 Chas Smithers (BSCE 04) credits the School of Engineering with preparing him to earn his master\u2019s degree from Georgia Tech and setting him on the fast track to owning and operating his own consulting firm. \u201cI enjoyed Georgia Tech, but Ole Miss is always where my heart will be,\u201d said Smithers, aRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[765,1297],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRecent civil engineering graduate starting own consulting firm - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/recent-civil-engineering-graduate-starting-own-consulting-firm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Recent civil engineering graduate starting own consulting firm - 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