My practicum was an applied learning arrangement at A+F Engineers, a small structural consulting firm in northwest D.C. Because of the nature of their work, it could not rightfully be called a singular practicum site, but in fact many. I found all the construction zones I traveled to thrilling. I use this word because in some cases there were aluminum steps that led up to the scaffolding of the incomplete building…so needless to say, hardhats and being satisfied with my life’s accomplishments were required.
The site supervisor was very thoughtful at all times, and it was clear to me that he had an ever changing conception of what was to be built at the site, which is precisely why those visits are required even for his personnel that don't operate machinery.
I would advise future SGC Scholars to use all possible avenues when identifying a practicum site. To use myself as an example, my supervisor was the principal of a Greek language daycare where I grew up. It also happened, as with many people, that he didn’t live off of one volunteering gig alone, and in this case was a civil engineer waiting to be contacted by an unassuming college student.
At the office in D.C., I was tasked with sending photographs I had taken of objects at sites to an engineer who went by Edgardo. When I wasn’t doing this, I kept a notebook of any stray remarks. I learned that the science used at my site is very heavy on geology, as we looked into the relative buoyancy of underground support systems and how it was affected by water bodies nearby.
Science is very closely related to Global Change in that it provides the literal guidance for where we should and should not build infrastructure. By using non-destructive testing that can actually give us a sense of what is happening beneath and beyond our own feet, the scientific method can help us grow in ways smarter than in the past.
The work at this site helped familiarize me with more than just scientific methods, however. I became apt at navigating Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s masterminded scheme, wherein all of the District’s quadrants are transformed into matrical streets, from which any other street can be navigated. This skill will help me in any other city I visit that uses Pierre’s genius.
I certainly think this work made me reconsider my future plans at College Park because now I want to get out of here as soon as possible! My money is to be made beyond the confines of academic thought, because the reality is there isn’t much to be done here except for the construction of the Purple Line. My career plans have shifted as a result of this practicum because now I understand that it will be harder to find a job outside of the U.S. as I had originally thought I may want to do at some point. If I could barely understand what the engineer was saying (when he was speaking English), imagine how difficult it would be in Greece, speaking my second tongue. Software like Revit and Mathcad are already confusing as they are, without a language barrier making them worse.
More than anything, this practicum made me experience the modernized computing process firsthand. It is a different day than my grandfather’s, when elaborate architectural drawings were etched out by hand using a ruler and a protractor. Things move much faster now, but the numbers stay the same, and it impressed me that some twentieth-century feats like the Hoover Dam were ever built. I gained an immeasurable appreciation for what generations upon generations of scientists were able to do without the powerful tools of today.