Drew Castronovo ’19 began his Hamilton career with an Introduction to Geology Class and will soon graduate will a job inspecting sediment for L.A. Private Eyes Engineers.
Castronovo began his job search as most seniors with a science background might: searching for any entry-level jobs as a lab technician. However, he also opened up his search to environmental consultants. Propitiously a family friend who works in real estate and maintains a strong partnership with the Los Angeles-based home inspection company alerted Castronovo to this job opportunity.
“I really didn't plan on going into geotechnical engineering during the earlier stages of my job search,” he said. “I was told to reach out to the owner of L.A. Private Eyes, [I] talked to him on the phone, and now I have been taken on as an associate geotechnical engineer.”
Major: Geosciences
Hometown: Amherst, Mass.
High School: Hopkins Academy
L.A. Private Eyes prides itself on saving homebuyers any unwanted costs, especially charges hidden beneath the ground. According to its website, foundation, drainage, and geological issues tend to be the most expensive items to repair and therefore require scrutinous evaluation. Castronovo will work at L.A. Private Eyes among registered civil and geotechnical engineers and local real estate companies.
“The real estate company that is trying to sell a house to a potential buyer may call us in to conduct a full inspection of the property—drainage, sediments, bedrock, foundation, holding wall—to point out any potentially hazardous structural flaws that need to be addressed in order to make the house safer,” Castronovo explained.
Having taken several lab and writing intensive courses at Hamilton, Castronovo feels prepared for the detailed research, note-taking and report writing that this job will demand. In addition to classroom labs, Castronovo is familiar with researching potential hazards, such as monitoring volcanoes, from his previous internships.
“I realized that this job suited me better than going into geological research because the impact of my work on the LA community from inspecting houses will be more short-term than conducting years-long research projects on rocks,” he said. “At least in my early career, I need some instant gratification of knowing that my work is having an immediate positive impact on my clients.”
