An Inside Look on Engineering – Civil Engineering

An Inside Look on Engineering – Civil Engineering

My name is Courtney Colosimo and I am a senior in Civil Engineering at Purdue University.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, Civil Engineers “conceive, design, build, supervise, operate, construct, and maintain infrastructure projects and systems in the public and private sector, including roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and systems for water supply and sewage treatment.” Civil Engineering itself is a broad discipline. The civil engineering curriculum here at Purdue is broad allowing the student to tailor their experience in civil engineering to their interest in the field of civil engineering. There are nine concentrations in civil engineering each allowing the student to specialize in a section of civil engineering tailored to a certain sector of the civil engineering industry. I have chosen to specialize in the architectural concentration. My academic interests are in the design of high-performance buildings. High performance buildings optimize energy efficiency and water usage, utilize productive lighting and create a healthy indoor environment.  Though I am an architectural concentration, I have foundation in all the areas of civil engineering to allow me to be successful in all sectors of the civil engineering industry.

The School of Civil Engineering at Purdue includes hands on, conceptual and industry applications of the civil engineering principle in its courses. In the laboratory setting we study concrete, asphalt, steel and concrete structures, flow of water, land surveying as well as a variety of other topics based on your interests. In the classroom, we study principles of materials, land surveying, statics, dynamics, structures, hydraulics, and a variety of other courses of your choosing. I personally take courses in psychometrics, building electrical and mechanical systems, building envelope and lighting controls. Through civil engineering there are opportunities for undergraduate research and study abroad. I personally have participated in two short term study abroad programs, one studying sustainability in Sweden and the other studying transportation systems in Europe. Both were two-week programs that took place in the month of May, and I received technical civil engineering credit for both these courses. These programs allowed me enough time to complete an internship with the remainder of my summer.

I have completed three summer internships with three different companies in three different fields. My first internship was with Aecom Technical Services in Germantown, MD. During this internship I worked on environmental remediation reports for various clients. While I had a meaningful experience, I ultimately found that I was not passionate about Environmental Remediation. The following summer I worked at The Whiting Turner Contracting Company in Baltimore, MD. I got this internship by connecting with a project manager from the company during CESAC’s Civil Engineering Career Fair. For this internship I worked onsite at Ft. Meade. I assisted the project manager with various tasks including subcontractor time records, requests for outages, paid invoices, and performed quality control assessment onsite. The project team onsite was small which allowed me to make lasting connections with other employees on site. While I enjoyed my experience at Whiting Turner, I ultimately decided I wanted to get my feet wet in the consulting industry before it was time to choose what industry I would work in full-time. Again, at the CESAC career fair I was able to connect with Burns & McDonnell and land an internship in Chicago for the Summer. I had never lived in Chicago before, so it was very exciting to have the opportunity to live and work downtown. At Burns & McDonnell, I worked in the energy group and created AutoCAD layouts of site design, designed drainage ponds, and designed site grading.

I am now in my final year at Purdue. I am very grateful for the opportunities I have been given. I have gained valuable knowledge and experiences that I will take with me. Boiler Up!