Weeks 1 & 2 – Walbridge UofM LSA / WTC – Asset Sustainment Project/ BuildU Orientation – Miranda Zamora

For the past two weeks I’ve been learning about steel, connections, drawings, etc. It’s been interesting to see the erections be set into place and watch the erector place tons of steel and the laborers weld and bolt the pieces together. Learning the science behind a steel beam in school was difficult because it came down to the moment of inertia, neutral axis, the shape of the beam, the material, the calculations, and many more engineering details. However, I love working in the field because it shows me that all that stuff really does matter for the end result. Working for Ideal is so rewarding because I get to physically see everything I have been taught so far in my college career. Although it’s just a steel beam there’s so much more that goes into the making and preparation of it. This motivates me to become a better engineer to avoid mistakes that I’ve seen so far. However, I’ve also learned and observed how to fix those mistakes if I ever come across to them later in my career. Besides, part of the job of an engineer is to come up with solutions. 🙂
I also got the opportunity to visit the Asset Sustainment Project in its final stages! I interned there last summer and it was a great learning experience to see boilers be built and learn about how they function and their purpose. This helped me so much during my class this semester, so huge thanks to the Asset Sustainment Project team for helping me learn about boilers last summer!
Lastly, the BuildU Orientation! It was so much fun meeting all of the other interns and bonding with them over giant Jenga and the Tigers game.
Below I have inserted a picture of the steel erections!