Interns Find MKEC’s Individualized Experience Helps Them Plan the Future
August 19, 2024
Interns. Hollywood would have you believe the experience you get as an intern will be limited to making coffee runs and doing rote tasks. At MKEC, we hope to provide a better learning experience.
Our summer interns are an integral part of our team from the moment they arrive to the day they leave. We believe these future engineers will learn the most by doing, so we set them up for success from day one.
“I was surprised with how much they trusted me on things,” said Tatum Briestensky, a senior civil engineering major from the University of Kansas interning in our Overland Park, Kansas, office. “They would let me try it and then they were there to answer questions and look over everything.”
Hands-on learning
At MKEC, we try to give our interns the opportunity to use a wide variety of skills on a range of different projects. From hand calculations to improving AutoCAD skills to learning new software, our interns have plenty of opportunities to try new things.
“I really like that I worked on a broad range of projects,” said Katelin Miller, a senior architectural engineering major at Kansas State University who interned at our Wichita office. “Last summer at my previous internship at another company, it was a lot of marking up sheets. I didn’t see a whole lot of projects.”
Briestensky agreed.
“They allowed me to be involved in a lot of different parts of the project from research to doing a punch visit. Everyone I worked with was available to help and answer my questions. It was a really good learning process.”
“Everyone I worked with was available to help and answer my questions. It was a really good learning process.”
Tatum Briestensky, senior civil engineering major
Our interns also love seeing how what they are learning in the classroom applies to real-world projects.
“It has lit a fire under me,” said Colton Flinn, a senior civil engineering major at The University of Oklahoma who interned at our Oklahoma City office. “My first week here, I found I was using K values and vertical and horizontal curves. It’s good to see the fruits of your labor when you’re actually applying what you’ve learned.”
Our other interns agreed.
“I can see how this all applied to what I’ve been doing,” said Jack Franklin, a senior mechanical engineering major at Friends University who worked out of our Wichita office. “Now, I can go back and apply it in a classroom.”
Getting out of the office
While we love putting our interns to work, we don’t want them stuck in the office all summer. We make sure they get to see their work in the field, too.
“I’ve really enjoyed going on a couple of site visits,” Franklin said. “It’s really cool getting to see those sights, cool to see that we designed it. Once you go to the site and see how big it really is, it gives you a whole new perspective.”
“It’s really cool getting to see those sights, cool to see that we designed it. Once you go to the site and see how big it really is, it gives you a whole new perspective.”
Jack Franklin, senior mechanical engineering major
Getting to see a site in person helps interns understand the decision-making process in their designs.
“Getting to see it in person and seeing the issues some sites have helps to understand why we did things the way we did,” Briestensky said.
Flinn found his site visit gave him a different view of the project.
“It helps with perspective. I didn’t understand why we were draining a certain way, but when you see it in person, it made a lot more sense.”
Environment matters
One thing all our interns agreed on was their nervousness about walking into an unknown situation, but they all found MKEC’s staff to be friendly and helpful.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how willing everyone is to help,” Franklin said. “I’ve been really happy with how nice everyone is.”
Miller enjoyed learning new things from people who were willing to teach.
“It was great how patient everyone has been when I had questions that led to more questions, and how willing everyone was to explain. That has been so, so nice to have such a positive atmosphere around you.”
“It was great how patient everyone has been when I had questions that led to more questions, and how willing everyone was to explain.”
Katelin Miller, senior architectural engineering major
The environment at MKEC has also influenced how our interns will evaluate future job offers.
“I will definitely be looking at the culture,” Franklin said. “I want to enjoy the people I’m working around. It makes the day go faster.”
Flinn agreed.
“I think you need a good team around you, people to help you out. There’s a really good team here. Every group that I went to gave me pointers.”
Back to school
As our interns head back to school this fall, they take with them new skills and experiences, and some are even making changes to their future plans. They say that MKEC’s individualized focus helped with those decisions.
“You’re not just another intern in a room full of interns at MKEC,” Miller said. “They know you by name. They truly get to know you as a person. They asked me different questions like: What are your goals? What do you enjoy doing? What are your strengths? I didn’t realize how individualized this program is.”
“I feel like it’s hard to learn in class when you don’t understand how it’s being applied,” Briestensky said. “Now, I understand that’s why we’re learning these things. It has helped me pick out second-semester classes for this year.”
Flinn made a different choice for his senior year, too.
“I like transportation, which is not everyone’s first choice. Because of my experience this summer, I decided to take pavement design this upcoming semester.”
“Because of my experience this summer, I decided to take pavement design this upcoming semester.”
Colton Flinn, senior civil engineering major
No matter where our interns end up in the future, we’re glad that their individualized experience at MKEC is helping them to forge that path.
We are grateful and appreciative of all of our interns this summer. They were immersed into our team and our projects and contributed greatly to the team while gaining knowledge and developing their skills.
Jack Franklin, Alex Lee, Logan Pittman, Katelin Miller, Brayden Boyd,
Tatum Briestensky, Shawn McMahon, Colton Flinn
