My Practicum project involved working as an intern for the environmental contractor, Sevenson Environmental Services Inc. The Project we were working on was based in Jacksonville, Florida at a former chemical pesticide production plant, but I worked out of the Sevenson Baltimore office. Essentially, the company owning the former plant wanted to clean up the contaminants remaining on site, and opened themselves up to bids from different contractors in order to fix it. I helped with estimation for project costs, along with other estimators at Sevenson, created a project schedule to determine the length of the project, communicated information to subcontractors when necessary, and helped create more detailed project plans to share with the owners of the land.
A typical day in my internship could be quite variable, but it commonly consisted of reading specifics from the client or documents from government bodies like the EPA, adding and changing costs of the bid, assembling various documents or presentations as either parts of the bid itself or to communicate project information with the client, all spread throughout the day. I frequently used the specialized app ‘HeavyBid’ over the course of my internship, which allows the company to estimate costs and put together individual bids while building a database with the cost of various inputs, vehicles, and employee salaries. I also became acquainted with other programs like ‘Microsoft Project’ to create schedules and determine the estimated length of the project.
There were several scientific concepts I learned in SGC and in my other science courses that helped me understand certain aspects of the project. Eutrophication and other contaminant runoff helped me to understand why building a barrier around the site to prevent additional contamination from going into the river during sediment excavation was so important. One of my other classes discussed the ‘landfill’ process and the methods by which they prevent contaminants leaking out, which helped me understand the process Sevenson uses to treat and contain contaminated soil. The soil on the Jacksonville site is going to be treated to remove as many contaminants as possible, and then buried in a contained layer under the site with a similar protective layer to the ones used at landfills. I gained a deeper understanding of the work that goes into environmental remediation from my internship, as well as improving my skills with working in a professional setting, and I look forward to improving them more during my work this summer.
This internship reinforced my interest in the policy portion of environmental work, as it made it clear how important regulations are when it comes to maintaining and protecting environments across the country. I wanted to practice my professional and interpersonal skills, which I feel I got plenty of opportunities to do over the course of the summer through communication with coworkers or subcontractors. I would likely have prepared more through trying to gain more experience in that specific field and by working with the programs involved to avoid the steep learning curve I faced in the beginning. Trying to remember or figure out how different programs worked took some time, and I’m still not perfect, so I feel like some knowledge with them ahead of time would have helped me in the beginning. I’m planning on interning with Sevenson again over this upcoming summer, which I think will provide me with valuable experience that I could bring to future internships or jobs in the field. This experience will give me skills that I need in the long-term in my career, and help me obtain connections that I can use to build my future.
My Practicum required some collaboration, with myself playing the role of supporting the more senior employees in their work. It was a role I wasn’t really used to playing, as in school groups I typically lead the efforts, but it gave me a new perspective on working with others. Overall, I would recommend this opportunity to other SGC students, as it provides you with great experience, the work environment is very positive, and the work you do helps ensure sites around the United States stay clean.