By Ryan Docter, P.E.
Five years into my career as a structural engineer, I’ve come to realize that the work I am most proud of is not defined by skylines or scale. It is defined by impact. Some of the most meaningful engineering I have been part of has not taken place in the Midwest — where my firm, GRAEF, is based — but in communities thousands of miles away. These projects stretch far beyond calculations and construction details. They interweave cultures and forge trust that might not have existed previously. These projects leave an imprint not just on the communities we serve, but also on us as engineers and human beings on a fundamental level.
My journey with Engineers Without Borders USA began in 2016, when I was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Like many students, I was eager to jump into engineering design despite having taken very little coursework. At the time, the UW chapter was working on several projects in the western highlands of Guatemala, and over the course of my college years, I had the opportunity to travel there three times. Each visit brought a new project, a new challenge, and most importantly, a new perspective.
Our team built a pedestrian bridge in a matter of weeks, something that would become a vital link for a community severed from healthcare resources and economic opportunity by floodwaters. We trekked across steep, unforgiving terrain to survey a water distribution system stretching miles through the mountains. We constructed a water tank that stood as not only critical infrastructure, but also a symbol of future growth and stability.
What makes Engineers Without Borders so powerful is its dual mission. Students gain hands-on experience in design, CAD, construction, and project management. These are lessons that cannot be easily replicated in a classroom. At the same time, communities gain the tools, knowledge, and agency to shape their own futures — futures that are healthier, more equitable, and ultimately more resilient.
Those experiences stayed with me and have reshaped how I view engineering. I’ve come to accept engineering as not only a profession, but also a responsibility. The need in the world is too great, and the skills we develop as engineers are far too valuable not to share.
Today, I am proud to serve as a professional mentor with the Madison Area Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA. I mentor a group of approximately 30 to 40 students at UW-Madison on a water project in Tomacaya, which is a village in the foothills of the Andes mountains in Peru.
Tomacaya is a community of 600 people. As with so many communities in the region, its members struggle with reliable access to clean drinking water. The existing water system, built more than two decades ago, has deteriorated, and there is no surviving documentation to guide repairs. It relies on a single natural spring fed by local geology and glacial melt from the nearby 20,000 ft tall Salkantay peak.
Unfortunately, this single source does not meet the community’s needs. During the dry season, water flow becomes inconsistent and is insufficient for the community’s demands. Even worse, during the wet season, the system is overwhelmed, delivering discolored water and experiencing frequent pressure failures. The result is an unreliable system that struggles to serve the entire community equitably.
As we work alongside Mundo Esperanza, a local nongovernmental organization, our end goal is ambitious. We aim to identify new water sources and redesign and replace the entire system.
The solution must be gravity-fed in its entirety, navigating an elevation change of nearly 3,000 ft from the source to the lowest home. It is engineering at its most fundamental and demanding, set against one of the most breathtaking landscapes I have ever experienced.
In May 2025, I traveled to Tomacaya alongside the students I mentor. Sitting at 11,000 ft above sea level and listening to community leaders describe their challenges, it became clear just how much this partnership matters.
They spoke candidly about being overlooked in the past and expressed deep gratitude for having a team that is willing to listen, collaborate, and follow through.
As a structural engineer, I guide the student team responsible for designing critical system components, including water storage tanks, spring capture structures, and aerial crossings that span steep gorges and rushing streams.
We walk through each phase of the design process together, from concept to analysis through construction. It is not just about getting to the right answer — rather, it is about teaching the students how to think like engineers, how to develop meaningful questions, and how to design with purpose.
What inspires me most is watching the students rise to meet these challenges. They bring energy, creativity, and a willingness to learn that is contagious. In mentoring them, I am reminded of something that is so easy to lose sight of in professional practice: the importance of engineering fundamentals and humility.
This work has made me a better engineer. It has sharpened and strengthened my technical and communication skills and deepened my understanding of what it means to serve a community. Most importantly, it has grounded me. This work is a constant reminder that engineering is about not just what we build, but why we build and who we build it for.
The world is full of complex challenges, but it is also full of opportunities for those willing to step forward. In the space where technical expertise meets fundamental human needs, engineering becomes something more.
Ryan Docter, P.E., is a structural engineer for GRAEF.
This article first appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of Civil Engineering as “Reaching the Peak of Engineering’s Promise.”
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