We are wrapping up another amazing summer internship program. This year we welcomed 10 interns to work in various Kennedy Jenks offices throughout the US, from Princeton to Honolulu. Check out what 4 of our interns wanted to say about spending their summer vacations with Kennedy Jenks!
What has been your favorite part about interning with KJ?
Evan: My favorite part about interning at KJ was meeting and working with all the staff engineers and PMs in the office. The office in Honolulu is very welcoming and a great environment for learning.
Joseph: My favorite part of interning at KJ, specifically in the Portland office, has been the people. I am grateful to have found a place with friendly, genuine coworkers that answer my questions, help me out, and give me advice. Being my first engineering internship, I’ve asked a ton of questions and have looked for advice at nearly every turn, and I’m glad for the support everyone has shown. I also enjoy the number of projects I get to work on. I haven’t focused on a single or even a couple main projects, rather, I’ve been bouncing around and getting to see the variety of projects that the company is working on.
Brianna: So far I have enjoyed excavation calculations, CAD design, and site visits the most. The project I have been most involved with is the 100 Year Project with Alex. Through this project I have learned so much history about sewage treatment plants and their development over time. The knowledge I have gained in this internship is so much more than what is taught in the classroom.
Jason: What I enjoy the most from my internship is making connections with people and getting an inside look at the mysterious consulting world. Reason I say mysterious is because I didn’t have an understanding of what exactly consulting firms do since all my experiences were with water districts.
What’s been the most challenging and/or surprising thing you’ve learned as an intern with KJ?
Evan: The most challenging part of my internship has been trying to retain everything I am learning as best as I can. There is so much to learn from all the engineers at KJ so I have a hard time retaining everything going on in the different projects I get involved with.
Joseph: The most surprising thing I’ve learned about engineering is the amount of paperwork engineers are responsible for producing, maintaining, updating, and reviewing. From Project Management Plans to specifications, the amount of paperwork is startling at times. This is especially a big deviation from schooling, as engineering education focuses greatly on calculations and technical understanding, while not as big of a focus is put on technical writing.
Brianna: I have learned that I may change my path to structural engineering through this internship. Academically, environmental engineering was what I had thought I was most interested in, but once I saw projects and construction sites I came to the realization that structural engineering is what I am most interested in. I am very surprised that my mindset changed because I have been set on environmental engineering ever since my sophomore year in high school, but I am thankful that I was given the exposure to realize what my true interest was.
Jason: What surprised me the most is the “learn as you go” method. With Kennedy Jenks being a medium size firm, a lot of the engineers and scientists are involved in many different tasks of a project and take on different challenges. This learning method is very different from the structured academic setting I’m used to, but I enjoy the learning and the involvement of the territory.
About The Interns
Evan Babcock- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
My name is Evan Babcock and I am currently attending the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM where I am studying for a BS in Civil Engineering and interning in KJ’s Honolulu, Hawaii office. I chose to apply to KJ for an internship because I am interested in Water/Wastewater Engineering in Hawaii and KJ has an excellent presence in Hawaii in those fields.
Joseph Tarabochia- University of Portland, Portland, Oregon
I am a junior in the civil engineering program at University of Portland with a minor in environmental sciences. I applied to KJ through the Civil Engineering Cooperative Program (CECOP), which has a slightly different application process. Students first apply to gain entrance to the program, where they can be considered for internships from participating companies. Then, a second round of interviews with company representatives takes place, and the companies then select their interns through a lottery process. Students generally don’t have much choice in what company they intern at, but if they communicate and show interest in a specific company, that company may show preference towards that student. I was lucky enough to be the student KJ selected!
Brianna Robles- Seattle University, Seattle, WA
My major is Civil Engineering with a specialization in Environmental Engineering. After experiencing this internship I am shifting my attention towards Structural Engineering. I discovered KJ through one of my first quarter classes called Introduction to Civil Engineering. Me and two of my other classmates went to the Seattle office for a presentation lead by Chris. Shortly after I emailed Chris thanking him for sharing his time and knowledge with us and asked him if there are any possibilities of me finding an internship with KJ in the future. He remembered that I am from the Silicon Valley and connected me to the Santa Clara office where I was introduced to Christy and Alex. I stayed in contact with them, was interviewed in Seattle, and was eventually offered a position as an intern by Peter. They have been my mentors all summer.
Jason Sigaran- California Baptist University, Riverside, CA
I am a graduate student working on my Master degree in Civil Engineering-with a focus in Environmental Engineering. At my previous internship, I kept noticing civil drawings from KJ that led me to doing my research on KJ and I took notice on how they presented themselves on their website. Their involvement is very present in the water industry which is my main interest and KJ is a medium size employee owned firm, which I appreciated.
Thank you to all our interns for a wonderful summer, we wish you the best of luck in the furthering of your education and hope to see you back soon! If you’d like to intern with Kennedy Jenks, please apply through our Careers page from late March through early June.
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