During my time at CTI Engineers I learned how to survey elevation of a certain area by taking a previous elevation and using a rod ruler and a leveled scope. Elevation surveying is simple. First, you must have an elevation to start off with, so we used manholes for this because all elevations are already mapped out. We took the rod and put it on the manhole and put the leveled scope far away enough that we can see the manhole and see the point we wanted to measure. Once we get the measurement, we write it down before moving on. After, we put the measuring rod on the spot we want to measure, then we use the scope to get the number of our new elevation, accounting for the height of the scope of course.

I also got to learn about waste treatment facilities and how they function to make our waste water clean. First in the pretreatment phase, the facility rakes out all the big materials in the water. Then, they go to primary treatment which uses gravity to allow the particles to go to the bottom of the tank, also using surface skimmers to get the grease and oil off the top. In secondary treatment, microorganisms are used to break down the organic material still in the water. Lastly, the facility treats the sludge, or organic materials that they took out of the water, which farmers can use for fertilizer for their plants.

Also, while at CTI Engineers, I learned a great deal about civil engineering. My company specialized in water treatment facilities, so I also learned a bunch about those too. I learned about the inner workings of redesigning a water treatment facility and about each individual role in that redesigning. I got to meet all the people in the Akron branch of CTI Engineers and what role they play in the company. I also attended a couple of meetings and learned more about how people reason through problems together.

Overall, this was a really great experience and I really learned a lot. There are a lot of things that I did not know anything about before doing this internship. I loved meeting all the people involved, and they were all really welcoming. Rick Reed and David Kohlmeier were both great at showing us the ropes and giving us interesting projects to participate in. Given the chance I would do it again.

By: Gwendalyn Jenkins