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Dane Richardson is an undergraduate student in Mechanical Engineering. He interned at Shimmick Construction during summer 2021.

Dane Richardson

How did you find your summer internship and what made you excited to apply?

During summer 2021, I worked for Shimmick Construction in San Francisco as a Field Engineering Intern. I learned about this position from a career fair at CU. This internship interested me because it gave me the opportunity to move to California for the summer working in person. I was also interested in getting real world experience using what I had learned in the classroom.

What did your work look like as a Field Engineering Intern?

I worked with a team of three other engineers as the primary contractor on the BART Market Street Entry Canopies job.  I spent a lot of time in the field and in the office helping with coordinating tasks and progressing the job. When I was in the field, I would help the construction workers with questions about the drawings for the job and learned a lot from them about hands-on construction work. When I was in the office, I was learning about how to manage and prepare for a large-scale project and the importance of communication between all parties on a job. I wrote RFIs to the owner, worked on submittals, managed documents, and analyzed drawings. 

How did the ME skills you’ve learned through your classes show up in your work?

One of my larger tasks was making 3D models of the concrete work on the job to help with field coordination and make the drawings easier to read. I used SolidWorks to make the models and produce drawings and values for concrete required on the job. That project let me draw on what I learned in MCEN1025 and apply it to a real project. 

What advice do you have for other students interested in similar opportunities?

The advice I have for another student in a similar opportunity is to talk to everyone and try and build strong relationships for a better chance of an offer back/for full time. This also will help build references for future career opportunities. My advice for the career fairs would be to talk to more companies than you think. It’s a great networking opportunity and you can show interest in a company without committing to anything.