Alumni Spotlight - Joel Jundt (CE 85)

Mines provided engineering foundation for Secretary of SDDOT

As a kid, Joel Jundt (CE 85) just assumed he would end up in the agricultural business someday. Growing up one of four kids on a dairy farm just east of Rapid City, he was used to that lifestyle and knew what it would take to run a farm. 

But one day, after a particularly rough time milking the cows on his own, his dad gave him some advice.

“I finished up and was sitting on the outside steps of the milk house sobbing,” he recalls. “I remember my dad saying that life on the farm was very tough and that maybe I should think about going to college instead of spending the rest of my life performing hard labor.”

It wasn’t the first time someone had planted the seed for Joel to attend college. He had taken advanced math in high school, and his teacher encouraged him to consider a career as an engineer. 

“But I didn’t really know what an engineer did,” he said. “And I was told Mines was a very tough school academically and that not many made it through.” 

However, the scars on his arms from many days of battling kicking cows had served as a continuous reminder of other paths forward. Plus, if he attended South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, he would be able to live at home and save some money. 

After beginning his college career, he realized all the people who had told him how rigorous it would be at Mines weren’t wrong. 

“College was tough for me,” he said. “I had a part-time job throughout my years at Mines since I needed the money to pay for school, so I didn’t have a lot of free time between working and studying.” 

But he quickly came to realize the rewards of being a Mines student, and one of them was being involved in the CAMP program.

“I was blessed with getting involved with the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) student chapter and the famous concrete canoe competition,” he recalled. “I enjoyed working with numerous other civil engineering students in the design and construction of the canoe and learned a lot about teamwork.” 

He may not have realized it at the time, but that experience likely set him up very well for his future career managing the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT). However, he didn’t realize he had the skills to become a leader until later in his career. 

“I grew up a very quiet young man, your typical introvert engineer,” he said. “But faith was always important to me, so when certain doors were opened, I usually listened and went after those opportunities.”

Joel jokes that the reason he was even given a chance in Pierre was his wife, Chris (CE 85). Both had interviewed with the SDDOT after graduation, but only she was offered a position.

“They called and offered her a position as a traffic engineer,” he said. “After hesitating a minute, she looked at me and then commenced to tell them that she would accept the position but was wondering if they were planning to also offer me a job. So, needless to say, we both accepted positions with SDDOT and moved to Pierre.”

Chris retired from SDDOT six years ago after a 33-year career in the Road Design office. Joel began in the Road Design office as well, eventually moving into the positions of Rapid City region and operations engineer, director of planning and engineering, and deputy secretary before becoming interim Secretary in 2020. He was named Secretary in 2021. In 2022 he was named to the prestigious Transportation Research Board. 

As the Secretary, Joel spends much of his day with his staff, legislators, other partners, and citizens in conversations regarding the DOT’s vision to “make better lives through better transportation.”

“My job revolves around being a public servant, and it’s been very rewarding to make our community and state better,” he said. “As engineers, we take our work very seriously and are frugal in how we spend taxpayers’ money in our duty to design and build excellent transportation systems that people rely on every single day – whether that’s getting them to their jobs, picking up groceries, taking kids to school, or getting to the hospital. I’m blessed to be a part of this effort. What more would an engineer want out of a career?”  

His advice to current students is to seek out more seasoned individuals and ask if they would be willing to be a mentor. Also, remember that while life has its struggles, they will only make you stronger.

“The challenges make you more resilient,” he said. 

This is something both he and Chris learned at Mines.

“Mines provided both of us with an excellent engineering foundation that was needed to be successful, including the technical fundamentals as well as the ability to problem solve, research and find cost-effective solutions, and persevere when things get tough.”

Joel has had to use his own advice many times throughout his career, and he looks forward to passing it on to the next generation of engineers at the SDDOT.  

Funny sidenote: “After I left the farm to go to Mines, the folks sold the dairy and went into beef cattle, said Joel. “Go figure!”