Civil Engineering Internship at Jacobs

This was my second year working as an intern at Jacobs in Arlington Virginia. Last summer I worked in project management but this summer I worked with the site development group. As part of the internship program at Jacobs I was invited to partake in many professional development opportunities such as conferences, lunch and learns, and project site visits. On the engineering side, I had the opportunity to work numerous federal projects for various high-profile clients. Working on these projects helped me gain exposure to real world engineering problems as well as software used to help solve these problems.
My internship at Jacobs was my first exposure to a professional work setting. I had the chance to interact with multiple employees as well as other interns in different departments. I was awarded the opportunity to work on multiple high-profile projects while gaining experience with important and vital engineering software. Through my interaction with established professionals I was able to learn and absorb a lot in just a few short months. I was most definitely nervous when beginning my internship this summer as it was my first internship within the engineering field and my experience was limited. However, I was eager to learn and aimed to take advantage of every opportunity that arose.
This STEP signature project gave me the opportunity to establish myself as an up and coming professional. I also learned the importance and benefit that can come from networking and doing it effectively. At the end of this summer I believe that I came out with more confidence and experience than I even anticipated gaining. I also felt like I was more aware of how to behave and conduct myself in a professional setting as well as how to stand out as a valuable asset to any team.
I really enjoyed working at Jacobs last summer and was very excited to be invited back. My past two summers at Jacobs have provided me with numerous opportunities to grow and network as an up and coming professional. I first learned about Jacobs in eighth grade after meeting the Vice President of North Atlantic Operations at a professional banquet. After keeping in contact with her throughout the years I was offered a project management internship after my freshman year and then was invited to switch to the civil department after my sophomore year. I chose to return because of Jacobs’ culture of caring as well as their extreme focus on really teaching their interns in the hopes of turning them into productive and successful future employees
Through my involvement with the Society of American Military Engineers as well as Jacobs these past two summers I had the honor and privilege of being asked to attend the Joint Engineering Training Conference in Kansas City Missouri. This was my first professional conference and my first time travelling entirely alone. While daunting, this experience proved to be one of my favorites of the summer. I had the chance to meet so many established and impressive professionals who I truly aspire to emulate when I grow up. I even was invited on stage to accept one of the awards that my company was being awarded at the awards banquet which was surprising and a true honor. I had the chance to network with other young professionals as well who gave me a multitude of great advice and tips.
Jacobs internship program is well established and really aims at teaching and molding young professionals into established members of the Jacobs team. As part of the internship program each department would host a lunch and learn session at some point during the summer to inform us of the part they played and how they fit into Jacobs mission as a whole. The lunch and learns not only taught me a bunch about how Jacobs works and how important teamwork and collaboration is but also granted me the opportunity to interact and befriend the other interns in Jacobs programs. Through these lunches I became good friends with many of the interns and we still keep in contact after parting ways at the end of the summer.
This summer was truly a trans-formative one for me as I gained a ton of valuable experience as well as various important connections. I also was asked to continue interning at Jacobs and become a full-time employee after graduating from Ohio State. I plan on taking them up on this offer and continuing in the intern program and then working as a full time employee. Jacobs also offers a sort of exchange program where they fund my travel and living to work as an employee in their Australia office and I plan on applying to this program once I work full time. This STEP project was very important to my professional goals as it set me on the right track towards an established and rewarding career. Throughout the summer I not only developed professionally but also formed rewarding and lifelong relationships.

                                                  First Professional Conference!

      Private Tour of the construction on the roof of the Russell Senate Building!