My Experience as a Summer Intern: No Regrets

Being an intern at Summer Consultants has been an opportunity that I have no regrets taking. From CAD modeling, surveys, and structural analysis to soccer games, lunch debates, and happy hours, this internship has had it all.

During work hours, I had the privilege of working on three projects and learning about mechanical systems (specifically steam and boiler systems) I had never studied in depth before. I was under the mentorship of mechanical designer Anthony, and he, as well as everyone else in the McLean office, were always available to answer any questions I had.

My favorite memory would be going on a survey at the Walter Reed Hospital and getting to walk the steam tunnels. What made this more interesting was getting to see all the objects (boilers, pumps, piping, deaerators, etc.) I had seen on CAD in a physical environment, working together in real time. This enhanced my understanding of the systems and made it easier to follow what was going on in the CAD drawings. When lunch time came around, it was always filled with laughs and entertaining discussions that made me feel like I was truly apart of the company.

When outside of work hours, we had a soccer team that I played on. We had weekly games, and everyone had a great time getting outside and enjoying the weather (even when the humidity was crazy). The company also had after work events where we met at Bowlero or Top Golf and spent the evening playing games and sharing laughs. These gatherings helped give me a better opportunity to socialize with my coworkers, and everyone in the company was very welcoming.

This summer has been memorable beyond just the work experience, and everyone at Summer has created a work environment that makes it easy to learn what the company strives to do every day. The opportunity to learn and grow as an engineer has been invaluable and I am grateful for the opportunity I was given.