Every year, Davids Engineering welcomes a group of college students to work alongside our team members on various projects. This provides the students with hands on experience and provides DE support and fresh ideas. Meet some of the interns we were privileged to work with!
Derick Corell
Derick is from Tracy, CA and currently attends California State University, Chico majoring in Civil Engineering. His biggest responsibility as an intern at DE was to generate a land use comparison between California Department of Water Resources (DWR) statewide cropping maps and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cropscape data. Derick also led the development of analysis scripts for a project investigating the improved use of surface water in a Northern California water district.
Rustin Shaw
Rustin was born and raised in Madera, CA and attends California State University, Fresno. He is majoring in Civil Engineering with an emphasis on water resources and soil. At DE, Rustin was tasked to handle field data collection for the Madera Verification Project including grower’s flowmeter readings, weather parameters (wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity), soil type, soil moisture and irrigation evaluations for Madera County growers.
Luis Villanueva
Luis is from Davis, CA and finishing up his last quarter at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a bachelors in BioResource and Agricultural Engineering. While at Davids Engineering, he assisted fellow engineers with a variety of tasks involving creating cost estimates, bid sheets, technical documents, field surveying and performing hydraulic calculations.
Jacob Winslow
Jacob was born and raised in Chico, CA and now attends California State University, Chico. He has one semester left before receiving his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. Over the summer, Jacob work in the office and out in the field on a variety of projects. Out in the field, he was responsible for the measurement of flow in canals, drains, and creeks using the FlowTracker ADVs and a RiverSurveyor ADCP. At the office, Jacob developed maps, built python scripts, researched various topics and wired equipment.
LOOKING BACK ON WHAT YOU’VE ACCOMPLISHED AS AN INTERN, WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT TO WORK ON?
Derick: I am most proud of the skills I have developed in Python. This was a skill that I lacked and if it wasn’t for this opportunity, it is something I would have not taken the time on my own to learn. With that said I am so glad that I did because I can see the power of computer analysis. Even though we are not computer scientists or engineers, being able to write scripts to analyze data is an important part of what we do as engineers
Rustin: I am most proud of the work that I am conducting related to the Madera Verification Project. The outcomes of this project are very important to the continuation of farming and water conservation in California.
Luis: Developing a cost estimate for a possible large project. I spent a lot of time creating a very detailed estimate with hydraulic and earthwork calculations. This conceptual project did not have many technical details for me to work from. However, I was able to create a detailed cost estimate with many attributes.
Jacob: I was allowed to take the reins on the implementation of the RemoteTracker program in a Northern California water district. This work involved creating maps of the district, inventories of the infrastructure within the district, and working directly with the client. It was exciting to be able to see the project from start to finish and to be given a large responsibility for it.
WHAT IS THE MOST VALUABLE THING YOU’VE LEARNED IN YOUR INTERNSHIP?
Derick: The most valuable life skill I have learned in this internship is that in the business world, it is extremely hard to get people to do the things you request – whether that is running some new cables for internet to a newly acquired office or putting in a quote for project cost estimations. Persistence is key! Do not assume that just because you talked on the phone once that things are just going to happen. Always follow up with people when you need things done.
Rustin: Learn to look at all the variables. At the beginning of the internship, I thought this was a very straight forward project, but the more I worked on it the more in depth and complicated the project became. So, looking at all the variables may be time consuming, but it is extremely beneficial to the results of the project.
Luis: Almost every task I worked on, I got to learn something new. My coworkers are always happy to teach me new things on different projects. I have learned a lot on different infrastructure designs, California water supply and management, and overall engineering process.
Jacob: While I have learned a ton throughout the summer, the most valuable things that I have learned are professional skills. Working with clients in a professional setting is not something that is directly taught in school.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO GET UP AND GO TO SCHOOL/WORK?
Derick: What motivates me is (A) the people I work with and am surrounded by and (B) the ability to go to school and work each day and take home a little piece of information that was either new to me or something that is applicable with what I have going on in my life.
Rustin: The feeling of accomplishment. When I began college, I had no clue what I wanted to do, but when I decided to pursue an engineering degree I set my mind to do something, and I will make sure I do my best to complete it. This feeling of accomplishment translates to work as well. I began working for Davids Engineering at the beginning of the Madera Verification Project and I like to finish what I started.
Luis: Designing something of value and watching it come to life. It’s always awesome to look back and be able to say that you were a part of that.
Jacob: I have two motivations that help me. One, my kids. I want to be a good role model for them and show them that hard work pays off. Two, I enjoy doing it!
