Sarah's Blog
Beep beep beep goes the alarm, nothing better than the sounds of a 6:00 a.m. alarm on a Monday morning!
Brush your teeth, braid your hair, put on your work jeans and make a very large cup of steaming hot coffee. I think to myself what challenges does Valparaiso University’s new Welcome Center have for me today? While bike riding in the cool morning air to work there isn’t a car in site and the sweet sounds of birds chirping is like music to my ears. Although I am tired, I know that there are twenty smiling faces waiting for me to arrive. I park my bike next to the trailer and walk inside. “Good Morning Sarah!” exclaim my fellow coworkers, John and Tim. This is the first of many to come. As I put on my work boots and throw on my fluorescent yellow hard hat I know that today is going to be a good day.
When walking onsite I am greeted by twenty more smiling faces. Leisurely talk of the weather and what has been going on in our lives has become a daily routine. Once the general discussions have faded away, business talk starts. I want to know what is going on today. What can I learn? What can I apply from my previous classes? Although observation is a majority of my learning process, the key in my day to day activities is asking questions. And you want to know what the best part is? Everyone onsite is willing to teach me. Since day one everyone has expressed their willingness to help me become a successful engineer. I have learned so much more than I could ever ask in the last six months.
This is also due to the challenges that my coworkers give me. They have faith in me that I can learn so they give me tasks that I am unfamiliar with. Although it initially takes me more time, they are patient with me and understand that they are helping me develop as an engineer. This support has benefited me more than they could possibly imagine. Any engineering student would be lucky to have the experiences that I have had with Hagerman Inc. Not only has it given me the opportunity to build my resume, but I am able to apply the knowledge that I gain in the field to my classes and vice versa. Working on this site has given me the advantage of truly understanding what I am designing and how it will be implemented through construction.
At the end of the day when my work boots, now a little dirtier, have retired for the evening I can take that bike ride home and know that I have accomplished something.
