Kroeker: Engineering runs in his family

Anthony Kroeker is the son of two computer scientists; his brother, Luke, has just completed his first year of a combined computer science/music degree at UVic; and several of his relatives are engineers.

However, when he started his degree in computer engineering at UVic, he discovered that the profession was a little different from what he had imagined.  “I found it interesting how tight knit the faculty was and how everyone was so interested in problem solving,” says Kroeker. “It opened my eyes as to how much of a role engineering plays in everyday life. The other thing I didn’t realize was that we would get iron rings at the end of it so that was kind of cool.”

During the Ceremony of the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer, graduating engineers make an obligation to carry out their work to the best of their abilities. They each receive an iron ring that they wear on the little finger of their working hand to remind them of this obligation. The ceremony and the symbolism of the ring date back almost 100 years.

Kroeker is being awarded the IEEE Victoria Section Gold Medal in Computer Engineering for graduating with the highest GPA in his class.

“I’m proud of my marks because getting good grades and working with my classmates was a priority for me,” says Kroeker, who completed two co-op terms at the UVic Computer Help Desk, where he continued to work 10 to 15 hours a week during his studies. In addition, he was part of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle team and competed with the team in San Diego the last three summers. “It’s impossible to complete the engineering program on your own—you have to work as a team. It goes back to engineering being a tight-knit thing. Because you have such a heavy load, you’re seeing the same folks all the time and working on the same stuff, so it makes sense to work together. And in the end I managed to get through it all and keep my sanity.”

Kroeker will graduate this month and then spend the summer working part-time at the Computer Help Desk before starting his Masters in Computer Engineering at UVic this fall. But before hitting the books again he’s going to collect on one of the more pleasant surprises about being an engineer—his iron ring.