This summer, RK&K welcomed over 30 interns to our offices to learn hands-on skills and gain real-world experience from our experts.
We asked some of these interns to share a bit about their time at RK&K, the benefits they’ve seen from being a part of our team, and why they selected RK&K for their internship.
If you’re a college student interested in future internship opportunities at RK&K, visit RK&K’s Careers site!
Ashlyn O’Neill
Virginia Tech, Class of 2025
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
I was an intern last summer and really enjoyed my experience. I wanted to come back to keep building upon my foundation from last summer and dig deeper into highway design by getting more involved with projects.
What have you been doing at your internship?
I am working with the Highway Design group in Baltimore all summer.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
The biggest thing I have learned is the balance between figuring things out on my own and knowing when to reach out for help. I have really enjoyed learning more by trial and error and getting to work on things independently.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
All the work I do on projects contributes to the end product that goes to the client. My experience has basically been a “trial run” of being a full-time young engineer and I have never felt like I have just been given “busy work.” In addition to project work, I have loved meeting other interns and full-time employees and hearing stories about their careers and how they got to where they are today. And finally, being in the office every day has helped me see the collaborative environment that is needed within engineering, and how different groups and disciplines can work together to come to a final deliverable.
Will Downing
Clemson University, Class of 2025
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
I wanted an internship with RK&K because I wanted experience in the field that I am studying. Once I learned about the work environment and how everyone treats each other like a big family I knew I wanted to get this opportunity. I especially like how RK&K will make you start an engineer in the field so they can understand how a project looks and is created, so when it comes time, and they decide to join a design team they have a fundamental knowledge of how a project is supposed to look.
What have you been doing at your internship?
I have been helping with the behind-the-scenes of the construction world. I have also gone onto the construction sites and have been shown what inspectors are looking at when inspecting girders on a bridge.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
The single most important thing I have learned so far is that safety is not to be taken lightly; any minor slip-up or assumption can lead to disastrous consequences.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
An internship like this allows me to gain some experience but will hopefully steer what my future will look like as I can continue to pursue this field or if it is not the right fit then I can make an adjustment towards looking at another specialization during school.
Bryson Bush
West Virginia University, Class of 2026
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
I was drawn to RK&K after chatting with folks who either worked there or knew someone who did. Their firsthand accounts gave me a real feel for what I’d be diving into as an intern, and it sounded like just the kind of challenge I was up for.
What have you been doing at your internship?
I’ve been getting cozy with AutoCAD, which is a cool learning curve. Plus, I’ve had some hands-on experiences like maneuvering an RC car to inspect an underground pipeline and analyzing water pumps at a water plant, which was eye-opening.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
The most important thing here at RK&K would be communication. Especially having to work with other offices/companies, communication is KEY to make sure things are flowing smoothly.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
An internship like this is very important to me because it allows me to better my understanding of my field and different concepts of engineering. Being able to work with different people and their expertise gives me the opportunity to come up with the best solutions and gain experience in other areas. It’s all about stepping out of my comfort zone, trying new things, and soaking up as much knowledge as I can.
Patrick Droney
Virginia Tech, Class of 2026
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
I’m returning for my second summer as an intern at RK&K. Last summer I did a rotation between a few of the departments, and I was able to get a broad look at a few different disciplines, including construction management, geotechnical, and structures. I really enjoyed getting to work in structures last summer, but since I only had a few weeks with them, I wanted to come back and get more experience.
What have you been doing during your internship?
I’ve been mainly going out on bridge inspections, but I have had the opportunity to do a bit of design work over the last few weeks. Out in the field, I have been able to inspect all different types of bridges in the Virginia, DC, and Maryland area. Getting to see them firsthand has taught me a lot about how they work, and more importantly how they might fail. In a few weeks, I’ll be going out to help inspect the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in MD/VA, which is by far the largest bridge that I will have worked on. I’m excited because this is an opportunity that not many other interns are getting. In addition to inspections, I’ve been able to write reports for some of these bridges. Looking at a bridge and noting its defects is one thing, but having to articulate what is wrong with them is much different and adds an even deeper level of understanding. All the clients for RK&K want their reports to look a certain way, so learning the differences and learning what specific information they want or don’t want has given me valuable insight.
In the office, I had the opportunity to work on a retaining wall design for a culvert in Baltimore County. This has been a bit of a learning curve for me because it’s something I have not had a lot of experience in. However I am beginning to gain a much better understanding, and an appreciation for just how much work goes into what I would have thought were very simple designs.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
There’s something to be said about learning about the “people” side of working in engineering, and I think that this internship has really taught me the importance of knowing how to interact with and develop relationships with others in the workplace.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
Working in structural engineering has been a career goal of mine for a long time, and I think that being here at RK&K has absolutely reaffirmed that. I also think that spending time working in a firm is giving me so much insight into what I can expect after I graduate and go to work, whether it’s here at RK&K or someplace else. I have a much greater awareness of the day-to-day tasks of engineers in a variety of different roles, which will serve me well when I go into a career field, and I am interacting with people in different disciplines of civil engineering.
Gerardo Guerra Rivera
Western Carolina University, Class of 2025
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
This is my second summer with RK&K, and I came back because of the people who work here. After my first summer, I got a glimpse at how it is to work in this environment, but more specifically I loved the fact that I was surrounded by experienced professionals. People who I could learn a lot from – professionals who have decades of experience in their field and are well respected among the industry. I sought out to take full advantage of having these resources available.
What have you been doing during your internship?
This summer I have been involved with our Rolesville Main Street Project, which our municipal CEI department is providing contract administration, and making sure the project is constructed in conformance to NCDOT specifications, drawings, and plans. The project is a road diet that will increase walkability, and bikeability, and enhance the pedestrian experience.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
The most important thing I’ve learned so far this summer is how to manage and problem-solve situations that may arise in the life of a project, and the importance of communication. I have learned from our professionals what the best course of action is depending on the situation, and how to communicate that to the contractor and field staff. Spreading information across all parties involved is vital for the success of a project. Establishing efficient methods of communication with clients, contractors, and RK&K can make all the difference. While in the field, I’ve also learned that a lot can be lost in translation when there are language barriers, and being bilingual has allowed me to establish more trust and communication with subcontractors and laborers.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
With less than a year away from graduation, my time interning at RK&K will allow me to hit the ground running in my career with more confidence and experience. At the conclusion of this internship, I will be more knowledgeable in my prospective field, and can apply said knowledge to my classes and career. Being the best at what I do is important to me, and having this internship is helping me achieve that.
Mallory Hurst
James Madison University, Class of 2026
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
I wanted to do an internship with RK&K because of how often I’d be working in the field rather than being in an office. Also, my dad used to work for RK&K before he retired.
What have you been doing during your internship?
During my internship, I’ve been going out to different job sites to oversee what contractors are doing. I use the plans given and the schedule to write daily notes and take pictures for my reports to know what is done each day and if anything did not go as planned.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
The most important thing I have learned in my internship is safety. Being out on a job site with cars, work vehicles, and equipment has many opportunities for injuries and safety hazards. It is crucial to always be aware of everything around you and make your presence known to the other people/equipment operators near you.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
An internship like this is important because it allows me to learn in a new environment that cannot be achieved in school. I can see real-life instances that occur on job sites and use the knowledge I’ve used in my classes and apply it to my internship.
Amel Marzougui
University of Virginia, Class of 2025
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
I wanted to do an internship with RK&K because I wanted to get experience working in the Civil Engineering field and RK&K seemed like a place I could learn a lot. I spoke with an RK&K representative at a career fair my university was having, and it sounded like working with RK&K would be a great opportunity. While interviewing I heard that they would allow me to have mentors that I could ask questions to, and I would be exposed to a variety of projects.
What have you been doing during your internship?
During my internship, I have been helping with the cost estimation of a highway design project by quantifying various elements of the design and stages of the process such as demolition, seeding, and right-of-way easements by drawing shapes in MicroStation. It has been interesting to see the vast number of elements that need to be considered when doing highway projects. I have also worked on plan sheets for bus stops and used online GIS platforms to identify different parcels of land. I used Google Earth as a resource for understanding what survey data was showing and seeing if any existing conditions had been updated recently. In a short period of time, I have gotten to use several different online tools.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
The biggest thing I have learned during my internship so far is how to navigate a new software for me which is MicroStation. By working on projects, I have gotten more familiar with MicroStation and the tools that are available on it. I have gained knowledge of shortcuts that make the work go smoother.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
An internship like this is important to my future career because it gives me a chance to get hands-on experience working on real-life projects that are being done in the Civil Engineering field. I will learn vital information and problem-solving skills that I can take with me into my career as a Civil Engineer.
Lou Obateru
University of South Florida, Class of 2024
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
Earlier this year, I had met a few RK&K employees at one of my university’s career fairs. They clearly explained what the company was and what type of projects they were involved in, but more than anything, they seemed like a great group of people to work with. I knew that if they were a representation of the other workers at the company, this would be a great place to work.
What have you been doing during your internship?
Currently, I am operating as a Natural Resources intern. I have been helping write up technical memorandums for permits needed by the Florida Department of Transportation, creating maps of local keystone animal habitats in ArcGIS, as well as spending time in the field as a surveyor of endangered species populations.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
So far, the most important thing I have learned is that communication is the key to achieving success in projects and other endeavors in the company. Our office is very productive and efficient due to our use of Microsoft Teams to send and receive information as well as our consistent meetings discussing current progress and future responsibilities.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
As a current Environmental Science & Policy major, an internship such as this will help me to gain hands-on experience with the concepts and ideas I’ve been learning about in my classes. My experience will help me to understand the inner workings of environmental consulting much better and more clearly than simply reading from a textbook. If I am to continue in this field for the foreseeable future, this internship will provide a solid foundation for my work regarding permitting, field surveys, and more.
Henry Jefferies
Virginia Tech, Class of 2026
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
I wanted to do an internship at RK&K because I am a Civil Engineering major at Virginia Tech and in my Introduction to Civil Class, Lucy Travers gave a presentation about RK&K. She really emphasized how much she can be out in the field and how her work-life balance is great at RK&K. I was looking for both things in an internship and a potential future job, so I decided to pursue an internship with RK&K.
What have you been doing during your internship?
I have been on-site at the Whitehead Rd. project in Richmond, VA for most of my internship thus far. My main tasks every day are taking lots of pictures and writing field reports and keeping track of the materials quantities.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
I would say the two most important pieces of experience I have so far this summer are learning and knowing how to read all the construction plans in depth, and the VDOT work zone safety class that I took.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
This internship is important to my future career because it can help me decide if Construction Management is truly the route I want to go, and it can and is teaching me a lot about the AEC industry already.
Katerina Medori
Villanova University, Class of 2025
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
This is my second summer working as an intern for RK&K. I enjoyed my previous internship, so I decided to return for another summer.
What have you been doing during your internship?
I have been going on visits to work sites, corresponding with DelDOT personnel, conducting traffic studies, and drafting plans.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
The most important thing that I have learned is to write professional documents that align with the company’s standards for such publications. This has not only improved my writing skills but has shown me how professional documentation is formatted/completed.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
It gives real-life experience in the professional sector that can be directly applied to a full-time position in a similar field. Working experience is the closest experience to what a particular role does on a day-to-day basis, so any experience of the sort is valuable.
Sara Qazzaz
Virginia Tech, Class of 2025
What made you want to do an internship at RK&K?
I have always heard about RK&K, and I visited at every career fair and this company seems like a good fit for me.
What have you been doing during your internship?
I have been working with the water resources team, delineating some areas using applications such as OpenRoads.
What has been the biggest/most important thing you’ve learned during your internship?
Aside from the main applications and using CAD, I have learned it is very important to ask all the questions I have. Everyone has been so welcoming and understanding and it is clear they want me to learn.
Why is an internship like this important to your future career?
An internship like this is important to my career in the future because I am learning how to use the different types of applications used on a day-to-day basis.