Student races through degrees - at different colleges

EYE ON THE PRIZE: Bridget Revier peers through a spectrometer in a Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology chemistry lab. She will graduate from both Rose-Hulman and Ivy Tech State College this month. (Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis)

Love of race cars drives woman to graduate from programs at Rose-Hulman, Ivy Tech this month

By Sue Loughlin/Tribune-Star

May 7, 2004

This month, Bridget Revier will graduate from college not once, but twice.

On Thursday, the Minnesota native graduated from Ivy Tech State College with an associate degree in automotive technology.

On May 29, she'll graduate with a double major in chemical engineering and chemistry from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Her two minors are Spanish and economics.

For the past two years, she has attended day classes at Rose-Hulman and then rushed to night classes at Ivy Tech.

Her Ivy Tech peers reacted with disbelief when they learned she attended Rose-Hulman. Students would say, "How do you do all that? I can hardly handle going to one school."

At Rose-Hulman, students would tell her, "You're crazy."

But being around cars, especially racing cars, is in Revier's blood. "My dad has been racing dirt track cars for as long as I can remember, and I used to help him often," she said. "Halfway through my second year at Rose, I felt like I was missing something, and I realized that it was being around a shop."

When she was little, she used to scrape all the previous year's stickers off her father's car so it could be repainted. As she grew up, her dad raced bigger and faster cars and she took on bigger tasks.

"Racing is a family event for us. My mom is my dad's crew chief. My sister and brother -- and me when I'm home -- also go to the track to either help with the car or cheer in the grandstand," she said. Her family has operated a racing supply business for the past 12 years.

By attending Ivy Tech, she saw a great opportunity to link her technical engineering training from Rose-Hulman with a more hands-on background from the two-year college. "By taking classes at both schools, I can easily communicate with engineers, mechanics and customers of all varieties," she said.

At Ivy Tech, she has rebuilt automatic transmissions and an engine, fixed air-conditioning systems and brake problems and diagnosed car problems, she said.

Her dual education benefited her during an internship with Cummins Inc., in Columbus, Ind., last year. "It is also an excellent selling point to future employers," she said.

Of course, whenever she made a mistake while in the shop at Ivy Tech, she'd take some ribbing about how "I'm supposed to be the smart one."

This summer, she'll complete a second internship with Cummins, and in the fall, she'll begin working towards a doctoral degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She'll study mechanical engineering and research automotive engine combustion.

Her future goals include potentially working for a Formula One racing team, devising new fuel mixtures or developing new tire compounds. "I think it would be great to work for a race team, but I am not ruling out anything," she said.

Revier has become an expert in time management. She tries to complete as much homework as she can while between classes or while working at the Sports and Recreation Center on Rose-Hulman's campus.

She also tries to get ahead on the weekends so that she'll have fewer late nights during the week. "Amazingly, I have never had to pull an all-nighter," she said. "There have been times I only got a few hours of sleep."

While there's not much time for a social life, she takes Friday night "off" and does no homework.

Revier said she has to stay busy. "I get bored easily." Even when she watches television, she has to do something. For relaxation, she knits hats, scarves and sweaters.

At Ivy Tech, she's often been the only female in her class, but it's no big deal to her. She admits to being somewhat of a tomboy. "My roommate's goal is to make me more girlie," she said.

Revier has other talents. She plays several musical instruments, including the violin, and has substituted for the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. At Rose-Hulman, she's played for the pit orchestra during school musicals as well as the Engineers in Concert.

She also has been a disc jockey for the campus radio station, WMHD-FM 90.7, and served as its classical music director.

During the Ivy Tech graduation Thursday, Revier received the C. Huston Isaacs award, given to a student who has high scholastic achievement and demonstrates a high degree for potential success in the field of study.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.