As my second internship at Summer Consultants comes to a finish, I think about all the different projects and experiences that I had in these eventful 10 weeks. I was lucky enough to be paired with the same mechanical team as my first internship, who immediately welcomed me back with open arms. I spent this summer working on the tail ends of some projects I helped start last summer, as well as experiencing the starts of several other interesting projects.
During my internship this summer, I was also taking a class at George Mason University that followed along with my internship and allowed the other students in internships to share experiences with each other. This opened the chance to see what life is like at other companies and how other internships are organized. What I quickly found out is that a lot of interns end up doing menial tasks copying documents or analyzing expense reports and don’t get to deep dive into what an engineer does. This is NOT the case at Summer Consultants!
This summer, I felt like I was part of the team. I was given the space to use the skills I’ve learned in school, combined with the mentorship I have received and turned it into meaningful and creative work. Some of the most notable projects I got to work on were the renovations of a historic barracks into an office and medical clinic building and the upcoming glassblowing studio at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia!
I really enjoyed working on the barracks renovation as I got to see the beginning steps last summer and then got to work on finishing the project this summer. This project proved to be difficult because of the amount of coordination across disciplines, including laying out equipment in a very confined space. The combination of low floor-to-floor height, trying to maximize ceiling heights, and large support beams made it more difficult to coordinate.
The glassblowing studio project was enjoyable as it bridged the gap between work and family for me. The Workhouse Arts Center is somewhere I have visited before with my family and drive by often when I travel to Lake Anna or Fredericksburg. Being able to put a small sliver of my work into this project allows me to appreciate the work that is done here and how meaningful the projects can be to the community.
All in all, this summer has felt very rewarding, and I really enjoyed my time at Summer Consultants. My skills have improved, and I have a deeper appreciation for the work that goes on behind the scenes of HVAC systems that surround us every single day.
