College of Engineering / Auburn Engineering Valentines / Kim and Mike Spoor
Kim and Mike Spoor
Why did each of you choose Auburn Engineering?
Mike: I liked science and math in high school. I decided to come to Auburn because Auburn had a great engineering co-op program, which I used to pay for my college education. As it turns out, that was the only company I ever worked for during my entire career.
Kim: My entire childhood, my parents thought that I would be attending the University of Alabama. However, during my junior year of high school, I decided that I wanted to be a civil engineer. The only logical choice for college was Auburn! I bought myself an Auburn jersey and wore it home to break the news to my parents. Thankfully, they fully supported me during my entire time at Auburn.
How did you meet?
We met in our physics class. Mike said that Kim was hard to miss, as there were very few women in the class.
Where are you now?
We have been living in Auburn for the last eight years. We both officially retired in April of 2022. Kim worked for the Army Corps of Engineers in Jacksonville, FL, where she was a foundation engineer for many projects in Puerto Rico and Florida. Kim also graduated with her master's in geotechnical engineering from the University of Florida. Mike retired as an executive from Next Era Energy (FPL) after 36 years. His last role was vice president of the former Gulf Power in Pensacola. We currently have an endowed scholarship for the College of Engineering and Mike is currently serving on the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council. Kim is about to complete her second year of studying Korean through Auburn University’s Office of International Programs - King Sejong Institute. Mike is staying busy by doing some consulting work. We have two daughters at Auburn. Our older daughter will graduate this year in chemistry and Spanish, while the younger one is majoring in biosystems engineering.