University of Cincinnati graduate Jeremy Ackley credits a surprising place for his love of all things architecture: Disney World.
Besides entertaining 50 million tourists every year, Disney World’s attractions feature an impressive amount of gee-whiz engineering that is on display in every corner, he said.
“I grew up going to theme parks and fell in love with Disney,” he said.
Disney inspired his interest in engineering, which led him to UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science where he majored in architectural engineering. Ackley now works for national engineering consulting firm CMTA in Texas — thanks to UC’s cooperative education (co-op) program.
“I wanted the daily challenges of solving problems. That came from engineering,” he said. “How do I design to meet these parameters? How do I get these systems to vanish behind a wall?”
How a UC architectural engineering student joined CMTA through co-op
Architectural engineering draws from many other engineering disciplines, Ackley said.
“We’re a hub on a wheel for all the elements we use: mechanical, structural, electrical,” he said.
Like many of his classmates, Ackley chose UC for its nationally renowned co-op program in which students typically alternate between dedicated classroom instruction and paid full-time work with an employer in their field.
The biggest thing you can bring with you is a pen, paper and mindset of being willing to learn. - Jeremy Ackley, UC Architectural Engineering Graduate
National co-op opportunities in Boston, Dallas, Louisville
But playing in his high school marching band in front of a packed house at Nippert Stadium on UC's Uptown campus made an early impression on him when he started applying to universities.
“One day I made a Freudian slip and said ‘when I go to UC’ and that was that,” he said. “I didn’t just want a resume that said here’s my degree. I wanted work experience, too.”
Ackley graduated from UC in 2025. He got a head start on his studies as a high school student, taking classes through UC’s College Credit Plus program. That freed him in his senior year to pursue a minor in business management from UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
Ackley said those classes have paid dividends in his career.“My supervisors are business-forward people and engineers. It helps that I can speak the languages of engineering and business,” he said.
Through UC’s co-op program, Ackley got to live in the Midwest, the Northeast and the South.
He was hired by consulting engineering firm CMTA, Inc., a Legence company, to work co-op rotations in Louisville, Kentucky, and Boston, Massachusetts. He worked on a variety of projects from hospitals to schools. Then they invited him to come to Dallas, Texas.
He quickly fell in love with the city. When he graduated, CMTA offered him a full-time position as a mechanical designer and energy modeler.
Since he made the move, Texas has quickly become one of the fastest-growing states in the country.
“I absolutely love being a Texan,” he said. “Texas has a food culture unlike anything else. And the entertainment and sports here: the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Stars, the Cowboys, Universal Studios, Six Flags.”
Ackley said co-op employers do not expect students working their first co-op rotations to have all the answers. Today, he helps CMTA hire co-op students.
“The biggest thing you can bring with you is a pen, paper and mindset of being willing to learn,” he said.
Today, he helps CMTA hire co-op students, many of whom come from UC. CMTA and UC have a long-standing partnership, spanning several generations of talented co-op students who have transitioned into full-time team members after graduation. The company has offices across the United States in cities such as Fort Worth, Chicago and Cincinnati.
When he thinks back on his time at his UC, he thinks about commencement. His high school graduation was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, so getting to walk on stage at UC in front of his family was poignant.
“Hearing my name read and walking on stage, turning my tassel and tossing my cap in the air — it’s one of my favorite memories,” he said.
Read the orginal article from the University of Cincinnati here.
Browse CMTA's career opportunities here.