Justin Sebens

Class Year

’11

Current home

Maple Grove, Minn.

Major(s)

Physics

Current Position

Engineer at SRF Consulting Group

Justin Sebens ’11 mastered a lot of material as an undergraduate physics student at Carthage. But perhaps the most important lesson — instilled in him regularly by Physics Department faculty — was to think outside the box.

This skill has come in handy in his current position as an engineer at SRF Consulting Group, a full-service consulting firm with engineering, planning, and design services in Minnesota.

As an engineer, Mr. Sebens oversees transportation projects, including light rail transit modeling and operations, intelligent transportation systems, and highway noise studies.

“In my profession, due to time restrictions and budgets, sometimes the best solution does not make it to the table. Carthage taught me that sometimes going above and beyond what you are required to do can help facilitate some of the most innovated ideas.”

Justin Sebens, ’11

What have you enjoyed most about your career?

“I love the variety of projects I get to work on and being able to see something that I worked on get built and be operational. Each day as I drive to work, I see projects that I worked on and it is very satisfying when you see work improving people’s lives by minimizing their delay on their daily commutes.”

How did Carthage prepare you?

“I think the best way Carthage has prepared me so far is by teaching me
time-management skills. While at Carthage I had to balance track and cross country practice while keeping up with the demand of the Physics Department. Carthage also prepared me by teaching me leadership and communication skills that I use every day in my job.

“Professor Douglas Arion was my adviser and always pushed me to my limits. Every day was a new challenge and I knew that no matter what, I could go to him with questions about anything.”

How has your liberal arts education benefitted you?

“I was never one to really socialize or mingle in large groups. Through the career prep course and Character Quest, I learned my strengths and where I needed to improve. I utilized what I learned every day and have created some very strong professional relationships.”