Our (Awesome!) Interns Share Their Summer Experiences

Coughlin Porter Lundeen’s internship program offers candidates real-world experience, arming participants for future pursuits in their civil and structural engineering careers.

It offers plenty of experiences beyond the desk too! When we asked about their favorite memories from this summer outside of work, the consensus was the Annual South Lake Union Tour and our various recreational team activities, including local intramural leagues, the company golf outing and, of course, the coveted shuffleboard tournament (kudos to Hannah who helped organize it this year as league commissioner!).

With the Fall school year underway, we’re sharing top takeaways from a few of our 2021 interns and opportunities gained during their time here.

Hank Knight – Formula 1 fan, accomplished piano player and sous chef in the kitchen

Hank joined us this summer after receiving his undergrad from the University of Washington where he’ll continue to pursue his masters in Structural Engineering. Inquisitive and unequivocally passionate about his future in engineering, he brings breadth in his area of interests. Hank departs Coughlin Porter Lundeen to begin research at UW on an WSDOT-funded project studying how torsion, twisting and cracking, affects the strength and stability of prestressed concrete girders.

With a few internships under his belt now, we asked him how his experience here compares. “Work at Coughlin Porter Lundeen will certainly be the reference point I will judge other opportunities against. My experience here has been very positive, and this internship has given me great insights into what I would like my future workplace to be like. My encounters this summer have really opened my eyes more to what work is like in industry versus in school. We were given very meaningful work that was instrumental to actual delivery and progress on projects—there were real responsibilities and deadlines to meet.”

Hank’s favorite project he worked on was Vulcan’s West Main, a three-tower development in downtown Bellevue. “The hands-on practical work I’ve had will positively influence my performance in courses and how I approach engineering problems in the future. There is an incredible company culture here that combines hard work, excellent results, and meticulous attention to detail on projects with great levels of support, kindness, and fun people/activities outside of the office.” Wherever Hank lands, we can claim with certainty they will be lucky to have him.

Bridget McFaul – Proud Zag, skilled painter, and aspiring ballerina

Bridget will continue to work part-time as she wraps up her senior year as an undergraduate student at Gonzaga University. Much of her summer was spent working on civil site plans for the Microsoft Campus Modernization project and Swedish Medical Center First Hill Block 95. She gained invaluable insight on what it takes to design high-tech office and healthcare developments of this scale and the criticality of maintaining strong working relationships with the city officials and project team members.

As she reflected on her time so far Bridget shared, “I’m glad to be extending my internship into the school year and my time this summer was absolutely wonderful. The people here created a supportive, collaborative, and educational experience. Being an intern with Coughlin Porter Lundeen allowed me to learn an unquantifiable amount of what it means to be a civil engineer in the Seattle area. I am extremely grateful to be working with professionals in the field and to have them as mentors.”

Hannah Stevenson – Volleyball extraordinaire and shuffleboard league master

A returning intern (this is her second summer with us!) and soon-to-be Graduate Student from University of Washington, we asked Hannah Stevenson how her experience will translate into her future pursuits. She responded, “It’s shown me what it is like in the day-to-day life of a structural engineer and has me excited to start a career in this field in just a few months! I am passionate about the path I chose, and I can see myself succeeding, which is reassuring.”

Hannah completed her undergraduate education at the South Dakota School of Mines. Her favorite project over the summer was Terminal Park Elementary School, where she helped design a custom roof truss for the gym as well as a covered play area (including the lateral and gravity design).

Hannah participated in our internal Steel Task Group researching design requirements for seismic frame anchorage and gained experience in new software including RAM Steel, SAFE and Builder. We’re grateful for her contributions and thrilled she’s sticking around with us through her graduation this December!

Amber Salahdin – Coastal fisherwoman, tiny travel-trailer adventurer, and savvy gardener

This was Amber’s first internship experience and she’s remaining on board part-time as she completes her senior year at the University of Washington. Having lived in California and Hawaii, she’s enjoyed learning more about the history and geography of Seattle which inspires her interest in civil design. Her area of study focuses on water resources and sustainability.

Amber is fascinated by the iterative process of AEC project development and how ideas evolve to become integrated, cohesive designs. “I have always been curious about the overall design process – how ideas are checked, reworked and refined until the best outcome is achieved.”

She’s most jazzed about a new life science development in downtown Seattle in which she analyzed the site survey in depth and helped run turning radius studies. It’s exciting to be involved in early planning for a ground-up development!

Thank you, interns, for all of your hard work this season. We wish each of you the best in your future pursuits.

We encourage full-time and part-time applicants year-round and we’re thrilled that more than half of this year’s stellar crew will be staying on board with us part-time as they transition to their next venture.

If you are a strong, outgoing, and motivated student interested in a structural or civil engineering career, we encourage you to apply. Responsibilities of the position are dependent on the level of coursework you’ve completed. You will get the opportunity to work with many of our engineers and learn more about the field of consulting engineering. Learn more: