By Neil Nachbar

University of Rhode Island civil engineering alumnus Louis Barone recently took a trip down memory lane as he walked through The Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering for the first time, thanks to URI senior Natalie Wilcox.

Wanting to enter a video contest coordinated by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Wilcox needed to interview an alumnus who graduated no later than 2015 and competed in the concrete canoe competition while an undergraduate. Barone, who serves as the URI chapter’s advisor, was the perfect selection.

In Wilcox’s three-minute video, which she filmed on Feb. 13, she captured Barone reminiscing about URI and his reaction to the new engineering facilities.

“Seeing the new building and the renovation of Bliss Hall felt surreal,” said Barone. “I knew I would never get to experience the new buildings as a student, but I wanted to see the College of Engineering grow and get the facility it deserved. It’s great to see how it all came together.”

Wilcox spent a lot of time planning and editing the video.

“I did all of the video editing by myself on my laptop,” said Wilcox. “I started by introducing the building, since Louie was interested in a tour. I thought flashing from a 3D model of the building to the real building would be a good transition. I also worked in footage from the civil engineering capstone design room and the concrete canoes to show that URI keeps a few on display.”

The video competition will be hosted by URI and held virtually. Each student chapter in the New England region will get to vote for one video, but may not vote for their own. Chapters are expected to base their vote on four criteria.

Barone’s recounting of his days at URI and Wilcox’s video production may end up being a winning combination.