Intern Hannah Dasyam
Due to the fact that many of Isthmus Engineering’s main projects were funded before the pandemic hit, this civil engineering consultant saw little to no dip in their workload last summer. In fact, looking back, Associate Engineer Justin Konen recalled, “It was the perfect time to bring someone on. We had a lot of work that we needed help with.”
That ‘someone’ turned out to be three civil engineering interns, all hired through the SciTech Internship Program. With all-virtual onboarding to safely welcome and train their new employees, Hannah Dasyam, Blake Andert and Andrea Johnson started their Isthmus internships without a hitch.
Andrea Johnson
Faces old and new
Andert and Dasyam all had previous internship experience but were new to Isthmus. Johnson, on the other hand, was an old pro as this internship marked her third summer working with the St. Paul-based consultant.
“I enjoy the R&D at Isthmus,” Johnson said. “There’s something new every day and I like all the little problems I get to solve.”
At the time of the interview, Johnson was developing a new visual workflow, helping with the Gold Line Bus Rapid Transit project and creating visuals for Isthmus’ clients. Andert was working with Isthmus’ 3D software, designing pedestrian ramps and making sure they’re ADA compliant, while Dasyam was assisting with a drainage project for Minnesota highway 371 in Brainard and getting more experience using HydroCAD, a stormwater modeling software.
“Having Hannah on my team has been a real benefit,” said Ryan Armstrong, an Isthmus Engineer. “She goes through tasks very quickly.”
Blake Andert
Aaron Bruinsma
Elevating the industry
“We get a high level of quality and production from the SciTech interns we’ve received. We’re super happy with them,” said Konen fondly. “We pushed toward a big deadline this summer and we wouldn’t have reached it without the interns’ help. The engineers learned a lot about how to manage people, too, how to be open to questions and give instruction.”
Konen and his team have relied on SciTech for several years now and even utilize the program to its full advantage. Last year, they hired one of their previous interns, Aaron Bruinsma, as a fulltime engineer, allowing him to transition seamlessly from college to the workforce.
“I have a lot more responsibility now than when I was an intern,” Bruinsma said. “I’ve learned a lot through this process and now, the new interns ask me questions, since I’ve been in their shoes and I’ve done this before.”
Looking back on the opportunity and culture they found at Isthmus, all the interns were unanimously grateful.
“They’ve done an awesome job including us all while, at the same time, giving us the freedom to learn and figure things out on our own. You can tell the company genuinely cares,” Dasyam said.
Get involved
Make an impact on a future STEM professional’s life and strengthen your talent pipeline. Start planning your internship today at scitechmn.org. At least 120 wage matches are available on a first come, first hire basis between now and August 2021.
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