Every summer, Woodard & Curran welcomes interns from across the country into our offices and facilities to get hands on experience and learn about career opportunities. This year, we have more than 30 learning-focused interns embedded in our environment and water practices, working closely with experts on projects in the public and private sectors. Most of our interns are at various points in their undergraduate studies, working toward degrees centered on engineering or science, and occasionally we have some interns in our corporate departments. Regardless of the role, these paid internships provide students with experience in a variety of settings – the office, on project sites, in treatment facilities, and interacting with clients – and opportunity to work on active projects.
As the summer wraps, interns are asked to prepare a 10-to-15-minute presentation focused on their individual experience, including the assignments they got the most out of and how their experience will inform their career path. This presentation also provides an opportunity for the intern to give us feedback as we are always looking for ways to improve and grow our intern program.
Environmental Engineering Students Take on Butte
This summer, three rising seniors from Montana Technological University Benjamin Schreiber, Gavin Rahl, and Ravyn Goodwin, and one rising sophomore from Montana State University, Adam Williams, are working with our environmental remediation engineers in Butte, Montana.
“I have learned about some of processes it takes to test and remediate soil,” said Goodwin. “This opportunity has further encouraged my plans to enter the environmental field and I learned that I really enjoy field work, so hope to continue my career outside of an office setting.”
“My goal from this internship was to gain work experience in a real-world environment,” said Schreiber, who has been learning how to interact with the public in a professional manner, the importance of safety on the job, and how fun it is to be digging in the dirt.
Rahl was also excited to get experience in the field, not just an office setting. He said, “this opportunity has made me want to explore more fieldwork opportunities in different environmental sectors.”
“During my internship, I have been interacting with and educating the public about soil sampling and the remediation process,” said Williams. “The experience has reinforced my decision to study environmental engineering and I’m going full steam ahead in this field.”
All four interns agreed that digging in the dirt and building camaraderie with coworkers in the field has been a fun experience. Williams said he’s had a blast working out in the field with his new colleagues and Goodwin agrees, “The people have been my favorite part of this experience.”
“Woodard & Curran is a company that feels apart of the community it resides in,” said Williams, adding that we also are one of the few companies that offer opportunities for freshmen in the environmental field. The community feel is what also drew Goodwin to our intern program. She said, “It is close to home, and I wanted to learn what is happening with remediation in my hometown.”