Two sisters reflect on their intertwined journey at UB and beyond

By Elizabeth Egan 

Jackie Bronner (BS ’14), the youngest of three sisters, was torn between engineering schools on opposite sides of the country. Her sister, Samantha Bronner, was working in Seattle as an engineer at Boeing, while her oldest sister, Colleen Bronner (PhD ’14, BS ’05), was returning to the University at Buffalo to pursue her PhD in environmental engineering. Both Samantha and Colleen wanted their youngest sibling to live nearby.

The deciding factors for Jackie came down to UB’s strong civil engineering program and Colleen’s promise to get a dog. Jackie moved to Buffalo and Colleen adopted a Border Collie mix named Murphy.

Eleven years before Jackie’s big decision, Colleen made the choice to attend UB. 

Although Colleen’s aptitude for math and science had attracted her to engineering, she was unsure if she wanted to stick with it. She considered quitting engineering during her sophomore year until she took “Introduction to Environmental Engineering.”

"In that course, I started to connect what I was learning to what I ultimately wanted to do: Make a difference in the world,” said Colleen, who now teaches the same course at the University of California, Davis.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering and later returned to UB to pursue a PhD in environmental engineering with a concentration in stream restoration. 

Following in the direction of her older sisters, Jackie also pursued engineering. However, it was her dad who most influenced her interest in civil engineering.

“My dad worked in construction, so that was something I felt familiar with,” said Jackie. “I like to build things and see what I am working on.” During her junior year, Jackie grew interested in geotechnical engineering and received immense support from former UB faculty member Christine Human.

“She helped set me up with an internship where she had done a portion of her career, and she was really supportive when I thought about grad school for geotech,” said Jackie.

While both sisters had busy schedules, they found time to spend with each other and Murphy, whether at Colleen’s graduate student office or taking Murphy on walks around Buffalo. Murphy would also spend time with Jackie and her friends, serving as their designated “therapy dog” and getting dressed up in orange to serve as the civil engineering mascot for the program’s annual soccer game against the environmental engineering students.

In a special moment for the Bronner family, Colleen and Jackie together joined UB’s graduating class of 2014. 

Following graduation, Jackie enrolled at UC Davis to pursue a master’s degree in geotechnical engineering, and Colleen joined California State University, Chico as an assistant professor of civil engineering.

When Jackie heard that her department was looking to add environmental engineering faculty, she mentioned to her professors that Colleen was interested. A few days later, Colleen received an invitation to apply and soon, once again, the sisters were sharing a school.

“She might have been at Buffalo first, but I was at Davis first,” joked Jackie. 

Jackie has finally joined Samantha in Seattle as a geotechnical engineer, where she has overseen safety efforts for projects ranging from skyscrapers to dams.

“It was great to move to a new city and still know that I had a piece of home there,” Jackie noted.

She currently works for the city of Seattle, helping write and enforce building codes.

“I can point out buildings in the Seattle skyline that were my buildings,” said Jackie. “I worked on the Amazon buildings downtown and on the Microsoft campus. It is always fun to drive people around and point out my work to feel like I have a little part of the city.”

While Jackie can see the power of her UB education reflected in the Seattle skyline, Colleen sees it through the impact she has on her students. 

“My time at UB gave me a good model for the environmental engineering program,” said Colleen, adding that the senior design course that she took at UB influenced the senior design program at UC Davis.

With two younger sisters, mentorship is second nature to Colleen, who is now a professor of teaching. In 2023, she received UC Davis’ Women and Philanthropy Impact Award, honoring her efforts to mentor and create sustainable opportunities for women in engineering. She also serves as the faculty advisor for UC Davis’ chapter of Engineers Without Borders, taking teams of aspiring environmental engineers around the world to support clean drinking water and sanitation projects.

Colleen and Jackie’s education and careers have been entwined for years. Only time will tell if their paths reunite again. Murphy still lives happily with Colleen.