Choosing a major is hard. On top of applying to colleges, choosing a school, sorting through financial aid, and preparing to move to a new place with new people, you have to consider: What do I want to study? What kind of work would I like to pursue after graduation? Where do my God-given interests and abilities lie? 

Selecting a major can serve as an orienting step forward in answering these questions. But how do you know which one to choose? Learning from others’ experiences is a great start. 

Delaney Winterhalter ‘25 graduated earlier this year with a degree in civil engineering and reflects on her four years in college. 

Delaney chose Geneva College because she was searching for a Christian college that offered engineering degrees. She had taken early college classes online through Geneva in her senior year of high school and decided during that time that she wanted to pursue engineering. She knew that Geneva College was a good fit for her. 

However, like most incoming and current students, Delaney sometimes felt unsure about her choice of major. 

“Coming to Geneva, I felt an inkling that I needed to study civil engineering, and now that I look back on it, I understand that was the Holy Spirit. But there have been so many times over the past four years where you get back a difficult exam, or you take a difficult class in a subcategory you struggle with, and you start to wonder if you’re cut out for this and why you’re here.” 

With the help of other students, professors, internships in the field, and extracurricular opportunities, Delaney came to a fuller and surer understanding of her calling. Delaney discovered through classes that she was particularly interested in transportation engineering, a subcategory of civil engineering. 

“I took transportation engineering in fall of 2023, and I loved it. The content was really interesting to me. I did an internship in that area to see if that was really what I wanted to do when I graduated.” 

Delaney had several internships during her four years because of her Geneva education and connections. Most recently, she interned with Michael Baker International, a construction engineering company based in Pittsburgh, and began a full-time job in traffic engineering after graduation with the company. 

“Geneva connections helped me to get all of my internships. Internships were a motivator for me to continue in my major because it’s nice to see projects that are going toward something real and making a difference ... You have a great internship and you start thinking, I am really cut out for this. By my third internship, I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” 

Faculty were one of several reasons Delaney listed as to why she enjoyed studying civil engineering at Geneva specifically. In addition to their assistance in providing internship opportunities, Delaney mentioned professors like Vitaliy Saykin, PhD, who helped her to integrate faith into her studies, a kind reference letter from Ken Wilson, MA, and many faculty who bring real-world experience into the classroom. 

More broadly Delaney noted, “Going through civil engineering at Geneva has made me more service oriented. What we do as civil engineers — what I am doing as a traffic engineer — is going to help people avoid accidents and know where to drive. It makes me excited to help others.” 

Outside of classes and internships, Delaney found purpose in extracurriculars related to her major. She attended meetings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and worked as an intern in the engineering department. Most important to her was the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), where she served as outreach coordinator and most recently as president. In her time as outreach coordinator, SWE hosted an event for middle and high-school girls on campus to introduce them to the engineering design process. 

“A lot of the girls that attended said in a feedback survey that before the event they didn’t think they could be an engineer, but after the event they’re thinking more about pursuing engineering. I love teaching the younger generation about engineering — both what it is and that they are totally capable of it.” 

Maybe, after reading Delaney’s story, you’re also thinking more seriously about pursuing engineering at Geneva College. Delaney’s word of advice? “You can do it.” 

Reagan Shields ‘26