Overview of my past internships, some perspective gained, and a glimpse at what I am looking for next summer.

1. Internships
During my undergraduate study I took three summer internships to gain
work experience but also insight into the culture of other parts of the United
States. As a result I spent time living in Berkeley, CA and Scottsdale, AZ away
from my hometown Grand Rapids, MI. While living in these cities and
commuting into San Francisco and Phoenix I got to experience different work
culture. From the transit oriented lifestyle of San Francisco I saw a vast
difference in lifestyle of the auto dependant commuters. I felt that the way
we move influences the office culture.
The local culture I feel was also dependent on the way in which the city was
traveled. The come and go care free of San Francisco was starkly different
from the more thought out trips of Phoenix where driving and distance were
factors for about every activity.

2. Michigan Department of Transportation
Physical Feature Inventory and Asset Management
Grand Rapids, MI | Summer 2006
Arrived by: Car (Home Town- 525 miles from Michigan Tech)
Commuted by: Car ~15 minutes
Lived: Walker, MI
Worked: Grand Rapids, MI
Project Work:
Primarily worked independently in the field taking physical feature inventory
Identified guardrail and roadside lighting fixtures and assessed condition
Electronically recorded the location using GPS device for data aggregation
Utilized GPS and software to inventory lane miles by pavement surface type and
service identification (ie ramp, limited access, and rural highway route)
Skills Developed:
Safe practices while working along highways
Asset management
Guardrail identification and assessment

3. Lea+Elliott
Automated People Mover Consulting
San Francisco, CA | Summer 2007
Arrived by: Northwest Airlines (4 hour flight + Cab)
Commuted by: Bay Area Rapid Transit Train ~30 minutes
Lived: Berkeley, CA
Worked: San Francisco, CA
Project Work:
Aided in project tasks including research, simulation, and document management
Performed Station Queue and Population Analysis per NFPA-130
Edited and updated AutoCad Documents for client presentation
Skills Developed:
Increased AutoCad Proficiency
Further understanding of Transit
systems modeling and operation
Project Document Management

4. Kimley-Horn and Associates
Retail/Commercial Land Development
Phoenix, AZ | Summer 2008
Arrived by: Car (~1950 miles drive over three days)
Commuted by: Car ~30 minutes
Lived: Downtown Scottsdale, AZ
Worked: North Central Phoenix, AZ
Project Work:
Received, interpreted, and edited plan sets using AutoCad
Completed tasks such as site grading and building/sidewalk layout in accordance
with specification manuals
Created report exhibits and prepared/submitted deliverables
Performed design work on construction documents including civil site plan,
demolition, paving & grading, signing & marking, and storm water; report
preparation; and quantity take-offs
Skills Developed:
Strong AutoCad proficiency
Report and Deliverable production
Time Management of Client billed hours

5. My Ideal Internship
Architectural or AE firm
Large City, Any State | Summer 2010
Arrive by: Any mode
Commute by: Preferably public transit <30 minutes
Live: Downtown
Work: Downtown or close
Project Work:
Design work to become exposed in the Architecture field ideally on master
planning/neighborhood development, institutional, mid/high rise, or transit
Team oriented environment
Involve my skills and civil engineering background
Skills Developed:
Develop design and production proficiency
Integration of my civil engineering background
Working knowledge of design from the
architectural standpoint
I am quite flexible, location and project work depend on the
opportunity, I consider all opportunities.

6. In Closing
The internship experience gave me a little more than nine months experience in
the field of civil engineering. My project work in land development gave me a
well rounded experience as many areas of civil engineering are utilized
including water resources, transportation, municipal, and geotechnical
engineering. These areas were exercised while also using the skills of design
and estimation while building proficiency with various software packages.
I am ready to transition my experience and integrate my background with new
skills and projects to find unique solutions and to provide a quality product!
To request a resume, visit the Contacts page for my email address.