Get To Know Our Interns!
August 06, 2020
Both students and employers can benefit greatly from an internship program. For college students, an internship is a great way to gain experience and an inside view into a possible career path. For employers, an internship enables the pipeline growth of young and qualified talents. Internships also connect employers with communities and universities to provide the opportunity to foster relationships through mentorship and training.
According to a study by Gallup-Purdue University, 71% of college graduates agreed that getting engaged in an internship helped them land full-time employment.
Additionally, a recent survey completed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), found that the one-year retention rate for intern hires with internal experience is 71.4%.
Get to know a few of our Interns participating in S&ME’s Internship Program:
Nolen Anderson
Transportation Business Unit
Civil Engineering, Virginia Tech, Class of 2022
Nolen has been an intern at S&ME for two years working in our Transportation Business Unit. Last summer, Nolen spent the majority of her time doing field work which she says has helped her apply more real-world context to the information she is learning at school. This summer, she is learning more of the business side of engineering and work in the office, which is teaching her more about engineering as an industry.
“The best part of being an intern at S&ME has been gaining real-world experience about being an engineer that can’t be learned directly in a textbook. Everyone on the team I work with has taken the time to answer any questions I have had and they have made sure I am still learning as much as possible while working here during my breaks from school.”
Luke Brown
Geotechnical Business Unit
Civil Engineering, Ohio University, Class of 2020 (December)
Luke has been an intern for the past three summers with S&ME working in the Geotechnical Business Unit. His responsibilities include logging test borings, writing geotechnical recommendation reports, and other field operations such as infiltration tests and pile load testing.
“At S&ME I have strengthened my ability to classify soils and talk with clients along with learning all about geotechnical engineering and the best part of my internship has been getting to know the amazing people I work with as well as traveling to job sites across several different states.”
Gerhard Livingston
Geotechnical Business Unit
Civil Engineering, Clemson University, Class of 2021
Gerhard has been an intern with S&ME since May 2019 in our Geotechnical Business Unit. His responsibilities include soil classification, gINT logging, report/proposal writing and figure creation, site reconnaissance, hand-augers, and taking part in onsite SPT testing. Gerhard says he has learned everything that goes into the process, from initial communication and proposal to submitting the final Geotechnical recommendations report.
“It is hard to say the best part given that there have been so many positives to this internship, but if I have to say one, it is how helpful everyone I have worked with has been. Everyone’s willingness and ability to answer my many questions no matter how simple or complex has really helped me to grow and learn much faster than I thought possible.”
Marlee Strong
Geotechnical Business Unit
Civil Engineering, NC State University, Class of 2020 (May)
Marlee has been an intern with S&ME since June 2020 within the Geotechnical Business Unit. Her responsibilities include coordinating field explorations, classifying soils, performing engineering calculations, and drafting reports and proposals. Marlee will be pursuing a graduate degree in Civil Engineering at NC State this fall as an NSF fellow.
“The best part of my internship has been reviewing completed projects with the engineer. Going back through finalized reports and discussing the engineering judgement behind the recommendations/designs has been an invaluable learning experience.”
Thomas Vaughn
Corporate Finance Team
Accounting, North Carolina State University, Class of 2020 (May)
Thomas began his internship in mid-February 2020 with the Corporate Finance Team. His responsibilities vary in supporting the Finance and Accounting department, including filing and organizing invoices and other documents to help centralize tasks to the corporate office. After completing his BS in Accounting from NC State, he plans to return for his Masters in Accounting which he will complete next year.
“I really enjoyed the culture and workplace environment, everyone enjoys what they do and will go out of their way to help me learn more and more each day.”
Thank you to all of our interns for the impactful work and contributions to our company!
Contact Us
If you are interested or want to learn more about our internship opportunities, please contact our Recruiter, Jennifer Levins at JLevins@smeinc.com.
For more information on all job openings, please visit our Careers page.