Internship at Hurt and Proffitt
- Mikayla Simmons
- Oct 12, 2021
- 3 min read
This summer I had the pleasure to be an intern at Hurt and Proffitt located in Blacksburg. Due to the strong efforts of Hurt and Proffitt, they have not only greatly inspired me and gave me lifelong friendships but allowed me to grow into the civil engineer I have always dreamed to be.
Our first engineering experience was out on site with an engineering technician (John) to see how the plans come to life and how a construction site runs. From John, we learned about soil compaction techniques, how to test different soils, what erosion and sediment control looked like and how to manage a site. As the other intern and I got to know the subcontractors, I began to understand key factors of how masonry and concrete specialist do their job. It really was an amazing opportunity to oversee such skilled workers pour footings and slabs and build several story elevator shafts with a skinny latter & harnesses, all while informing me on their process.
After some time out in the field, I was back in the office starting to learn the curriculum. I started by learning how to set up projects and how to begin the designing process. From doing due diligence, I was able to have all the information I needed to start working on any project that came my way. I learned how to do the grading of sites and how to tie that in with structures such as a building or a road. From there, I started working on how to tie existing utilities into my site and how to create profiles of them. Concept after concept, I quickly learned how to develop any sort of site I was given. My favorite part was discovering little CAD sort cuts to make the designing process more efficiently. I quickly learned how the "AUDIT" command was essential at keeping CAD files operational and it became one of my all-time favorite commands.
Towards the end of my internship, I had the privilege of working with the Town of Blacksburg on their annual fire hydrant testing. We tested hundreds of hydrants all around Blacksburg to make sure they were up to code and to see if they needed to be reclassified. The video below shows what a typical fire hydrant test looks like.
We always sought to avoid any private property damage and to not cause any major disturbances in the community. It was a good feeling to do something important for my community and to tell people walking by about what I was doing. Several people from the community would stand and watch us open these hydrants all over town. I even got to test one at a local church and had a whole group of vacation bible school kids cheer me on to open it up. At the end of my 3 weeks of testing hydrants, I felt disappointed that I wouldn't get to see the smiles and awe on people's faces anymore but I felt happy that I accomplished something so vital to my community.
In my last week of Hurt and Proffitt, I was to complete my final project. I was given just a project criteria list and a topographic survey CAD file just like an actual engineer would start out with. From there I did my due diligence going through local, state, and federal building ordinances, codes, and laws, and started my layout. After grading, planning utilities, landscaping, and erosion and sediment control I was finished. Through many revisions by my mentor, I ended up with the copy below as my greatest internship accomplishment.
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