Alberto Ramirez

Ramirez’s innovative teaching project, “Bridge Over Javelina Pond,” involves having students design and construct a donut-shaped pond with a pedestrian footbridge crossing the full width of pond. The pond is planned to be built in the center of the courtyard on the school’s campus. According to Ramirez, the pond will be hand-dug, engineered and lined to safely hold approximately two feet of water and feature two longer sides measuring about 35 feet, with two rounded ends approximately 15 feet across. Fish and ducks are planned on being introduced once complete. Students will conduct site analysis, calculate volume and filtration requirements, and select materials and develop construction plans for both the pond and bridge. Teams will create scaled models, technical drawings and budgets before building. The project provides hands-on experience in civil engineering, structural design, sustainability and project management while enhancing the campus environment. The Voya grant will be used to purchase the essential materials to safely construct the pond foundation, include the heavy-duty pond liner, underlayment fabric, drainage materials, reinforced edging, concrete forms and lumber for bridge framing.