Tyler Turcotte – A Summer as an Intern is Worth Multiple Semesters in the Classroom

Tyler Turcotte a senior civil engineering major at the University of Maine describes the invaluable experience of serving as an intern at the Maine Department of Transportation headquarters in Augusta, Maine. Tyler worked on the bridge program writing design reports, keeping logs of projects, and working with a junior engineer to check the final design calculations for a new bridge in Gorham, Maine. His objective view of design materials was beneficial to the MEDOT.

Overall, Tyler describes the Maine Government Summer Internship Program (MGSIP) as a fantastic learning experience where he was able to network with professionals in his future career field. He felt as though the experiential learning of the MGSIP provided him with the real world training that the four walls of a classroom cannot provide. He strongly recommends that students take advantage of this program.