Internship Highlight – Calvin Parker

Hello CSS Community: My name is Calvin Parker and I am currently a junior earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. This past summer, I interned with the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) under the Remedial Structures division. I found this experience to be truly rewarding because it provided me with a plethora of new knowledge on the structural discipline of civil engineering. For example, one of my first tasks as an intern for MDSHA was to use Google Maps to pinpoint bridge locations so employees could utilize GPS to drive to bridges to conduct emergency flood inspections after heavy rainfall.

Another highlight component of my experience with MDSHA is I learned how to identify structure damage on bridges. I enjoyed accompanying employers on these visits and assisting with the evaluation of the inspections of bridges across the state. My colleagues and mentors successfully integrated me into the organization and taught me the reasoning and processes behind their jobs duties. Some of the in-house activities I performed included uploading pictures from different bridges into files on the computer and editing Engineer Requests (ERs), FYIs, and engineering reports (on software called Inspectech). These were notes and recommendations about the condition and plan to maintain and repair certain bridges that the state accounts for required from my sight inspections.

One of my internship highlights was being present during an emergency repair on the U.S. 29 over U.S. 40 bridge where a pipe failure caused a panel to fall out, thus leaving a gaping hole in the slope protection. While being out with my colleagues for all the inspections, I learned the tentative amount of monitoring and care it takes to continuously keep the pipes and bridges in the best condition. For example, different pipes and inverts might need to be power washed and recoated/repaved due to the corrosion they’ve gone through.

Another important lesson I learned through my internship with MDSHA was time management. These lessons on cost-effectiveness, cost analysis, estimation, site plans, and MicroStation will help me in my career because this is very useful, universal information that brackets all of Civil Engineering (not just structural) including my discipline of Environmental/Water Resources Civil Engineering. My employers explained various sight plans to me and gave me tips and tricks for using the Civil Engineering design software MicroStation as well.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience as an intern with MDSHA. I trust this internship with help me apply my academics to my career.