My Experience as a Summer Intern: Growing as an Engineer

A great philosopher once said, “A comfort zone is a beautiful place-but nothing ever grows there.” This internship at Summer Consultants has allowed me to fully step out of my comfort zone and grow as an engineer.

Before joining this program, I was reluctant to ask certain questions regarding topics I did not have a lot of confidence about. However, being in this program has showed me that it is completely normal to ask questions, and it is also normal not to have everything figured out at first glance. 

Although learning software programs such as AutoCAD and IES, where I had no previous experience, was challenging, I had the full support of my mentor and other employees. For instance, Summer Consultants held workshops geared towards the new interns to learn and ask questions about any trouble we may have been experiencing. Also, in these workshops we gained valuable information on mechanical systems and practiced with pressure drop calculations as well as duct sizing. Hence, I can consider this experience as a “good challenge” rather than just “challenging”.

Besides learning and working on projects with AutoCAD and IES in the office, I had the opportunity to conduct a field survey at the U.S Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) located in Washington, DC. Being able to have that hands-on experience allowed me to have a better understanding of how mechanical systems looked and operated in the real world.

Overall, this internship experience has shaped me into becoming a better engineer and has allowed me to truly understand the mechanical aspect of Architectural Engineering.