Engineers Week Spotlight: Monte Loving Knows There is a Lot to Love About Engineering

WASHINGTON – Arthur Loving V, also well known as Monte, serves as a supervisory general engineer in the Public Works Department at Naval Support Activity South Potomac, Naval Support Facility Dahlgren, and is representing Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington for Engineers Week.

Loving has served with NAVFAC Washington for the last five years. He originally came aboard as a design and project manager and brought a wealth of experience to the NAVFAC team at Dahlgren, having worked in the private sector for 25 years before joining the Command.

“I joined NAVFAC for the great benefits and the opportunities to expand on my engineering competencies,” Loving said. “Getting to work with the different engineering disciplines affords me this opportunity, not to mention the interesting and challenging tasks associated with a research and development base.”

In his current role as a supervisor, Loving assists design managers and project managers on smaller projects, like chiller replacements, all the way up to multimillion dollar military construction projects.

“The challenge can vary from day to day. My focus is on insuring that our engineering design, consultation, statement of work development, contract award, and management services for different contracts and projects complies with NAVFAC’s requirements.”

Originally from Mechanicsville, Va., Loving graduated from Virginia Military Institute and pursued engineering because of his father, who was an electrical engineer. As a child, he watched his father build his family home, which included designing, permitting and installing all the electrical components.

“I had the opportunity to help him maintain our home’s HVAC systems, which included crawling underneath the house many times. Fetching the tools that we forgot to bring with us was truly a highlight of the exercise. I am sure these electrical and mechanical exercises convinced me to choose the civil engineer career option.”

Loving credits engineering as a field that is wide open for specialization. There are so many engineering paths to choose from, which provides opportunities for a broad spectrum of individuals.

“There are so many different types of engineers, from structural, water resources and land development within the civil engineer discipline, to electronics, power distribution and telecommunications in the electrical engineer discipline. In addition, do not forget the mechanical engineer discipline and its vast opportunities. The sky is the limit. It is really up to you on how far you want to go.”

Lastly, Loving notes how important liberal arts skills are out in the professional world of engineering. Communication is essential for collaboration within the team, but also with other professionals, like architects and other consultants.

“Pushing yourself to be a better writer, speaker and communicator are also important skills to have if you want to have opportunities to grow as a professional and a person. Always push yourself to reach beyond your comfort zone. It keeps you on your toes.”