Rand Intern Grace Zammitti takes note of the Second Avenue Subway.
After finishing my freshman year at the University of Virginia as a civil engineering major, I was excited to land a summer internship at Rand. But with no previous experience and only a year of college under my belt, I figured I would spend my summer making coffee, filing papers, and entering data. I mean, I'm just a kid. What could Rand possibly have me do with the little knowledge I had? I knew the internship would keep me busy this summer, but I assumed I wouldn't be doing any real engineering work.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
Rand wanted me to learn something this summer, so they sent me on site visits all over New York City and gave me real engineering work to do in the office.
One of my first site visits was at a condominium in Brooklyn, where Rand was hired to conduct a Physical Condition Survey (PCS) to uncover the causes of leaks. I never knew engineering work could be so investigative—I felt like a detective!
Diane Reid, a member of Rand's PCS team, taught me how to use a moisture meter. I pressed the device against the walls, the ceiling, and the floor to see if there was moisture trapped behind them. It reminded me of a stethoscope—but for buildings, not for people.
We also examined the facade of the building to locate areas where water might be leaking in, such as open electrical sockets, poorly sealed windows, etc. Diane noticed a light fixture in the balcony ceiling was rusted and pointed out there must be water leaking from the roof. This deductive reasoning made me feel like we were solving a mystery—the rust was our big clue.
Another project I enjoyed was a storm drainage upgrade at a co-op in Forest Hills, Queens. My favorite thing wasn't the project itself (storm drains are not my passion), but what I learned about construction projects, construction management (a topic I am very interested in), and the roles the managing agent and engineer play. Every Tuesday I went on our weekly site visit and wrote a report describing the status of the project.
The biggest project I worked on this summer was at a building where the utilities had to be relocated because of the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. This job was interesting for a lot of reasons. For one, I got to be on site (wearing a hardhat) while big-scale construction was happening all around me, including blasting, when they blow up the ground with dynamite! I also used AutoCAD, a drafting program, to update engineering plans for the project.
Another interesting aspect of this project was the dynamic between the parties involved. The Second Avenue Construction is a lengthy project, estimated to be more than eight years long. It has also been a loud one—neighborhood residents have complained about the noise. Technically the noise levels have not exceeding the legal limit, but there has been tension between the building owner, who is trying to address his residents' complaints, and the contractor, who is trying to do his job. When there's a project this large and this long and with this many people, conflicts are bound to arise. That's one of the hard truths I learned about engineering: Things rarely go as smoothly as you planned, but the way to resolve issues is through open communication.
It's been quite a summer. I learned way more than I ever imagined I would, and now I can go back to school and look at engineering through a different perspective. This internship really did a lot for me. Not only do I have real-world experience to show for it, but also a newfound confidence. Sure, engineering can be hard, but it doesn't seem as daunting as it used to. And as I learned at Rand, it can also be fun!
