The WAVE program engages students and emerging professionals from diverse backgrounds with the water industry through a series of workshops and attendance of the 2025 PNCWA conference. The workshops focus on the various paths within the water industry, networking, skills development, employment opportunities, and conference preparation. Each month until the conference, we will highlight our participants.
This month, meet Nikita, Noah, Michael, and Christian!
Nikita Kowal
Wastewater Engineer, Carollo Engineering | Portland, OR
Completed a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University and a graduate degree in Sustainable Water Engineering from UCLA
Why are you interested in the water industry?
I am interested in the water industry because I want to be part of the solution to managing both water quality and water resource management challenges in the Pacific Northwest.
What's one thing you hope to get out of this program?
I hope to meet other new-to-industry water folks and gain skills that will help me progress in my career.
What do you like to do in your free time or a fun fact about you?
I enjoy paddleboarding in the deep blue Cascade lakes, golfing, and playing pickleball. A fun fact about me is that my husband and I enjoy taking our cats for walks in their strollers.
Noah Lindblom
Civil Engineering student at Washington State University | Kirkland, WA
Why are you interested in the water industry?
Water is imperative to sustain life for all living beings, which makes managing the use and quality of water extremely crucial. I am particularly drawn to the opportunity to create meaningful and positive change in the water industry, especially as we face emerging challenges such as PFAs in our drinking water or worsening storm events due to upcoming impacts of climate change. Being able to address these issues to help improve our water resources feels deeply rewarding to me.
My interest in the water industry was solidified during an internship where I was introduced to the engineering and municipal requirements behind the detention and treatment of stormwater and wastewater systems. I quickly realized that this was my favorite part of the job, which led me to tailor my senior year of college to focus on water-related coursework.
What's one thing you hope to get out of this program?
I hope to gain a deeper understanding of how the water resources industry works in the Pacific Northwest and meet lots of people in the industry along the way.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I love anything outdoors. Snowboarding, rock climbing, or camping with friends is extremely fun. I also love sports such as college football and baseball.
Michael Trevett
Water and Environmental Technology student at Clackamas Community College | Portland, OR
Why are you interested in the water industry?
I am interested in the water industry because water is one of the most valuable resources we have. As our climate changes, responsible stewardship of our waters is going to become a life-or-death matter. I want to be one of the people helping to solve the problems and protecting my communities.
What's one thing you hope to get out of this program?
One thing I’m trying to get from the WAVE program is to start building a network and to really get a feel for the industry. I’ve been working in kitchens for the past two decades and have not really had the opportunity to cultivate my professional skills. The WAVE cohort seems like a great way to introduce myself to people I’ll be working alongside with for years to come.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time, I enjoy keeping carnivorous plants, playing video games, and raising my two beautiful children, Bobbie and Kevin, who also happen to be cats.
Christian Nguyen
Staff Engineer, Leeway Engineering Solutions | Portland, OR
Completed a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University
Why are you interested in the water industry?
I'm interested in sustainability and alternative energy development; I think that ties into the water industry in understanding how our water is processed and distributed. I'm interested in learning more about these processes and systems so that I can have a more holistic approach to any future project development I might be involved in.
What's one thing you hope to get out of this program?
I'm excited to learn more about the water industry and to develop new skills and perspectives.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I enjoy everything soccer related, as well as reading and playing video games in my free time.
Stay tuned for more WAVE Cohort introductions next month!