Following my previous internship experience with a different company, I had lost all hopes of finding an amazing company with people that would be willing to help me apply what I was learning in college to the real world of engineering. After searching for a summer internship, I finally found Carpenter Marty Transportation and I am so glad that I did!

I started out my first day with the same excitement and nervousness as anyone. Carpenter Marty was a new place with new faces. Nevertheless, the guys were very helpful and welcoming on my first day and throughout my summer internship. By the second day, Dustin had me jump straight into a project. He took the time to help me get started and willingly answered any questions I asked.

Just a few short weeks into my internship, I had already worked on bits and pieces of almost every project in the Cincinnati office. I worked on a range of things from setting up sheets to drawing typical sections and making plan revisions.  About a month into my internship, I was given a new project to start on. This project was a straight forward road design, and I was offered the opportunity to do the majority of the preliminary design work with help from the Cincinnati team.  As an intern with only a month of experience in the design world, it was amazing that I had that amount of responsibility and experience on a project.

This whole summer has been a learning experience with new things that I never would have learned in a classroom at University of Dayton. There was never a dull moment and each day brought new tasks and experiences. Throughout the summer, the guys were always willing to stop what they were doing to help me or answer questions. I wasn’t just given busy work or written off.  The whole office went out of their way to make sure I had something to work on. I didn’t feel like I was just the summer intern rather, I was the fifth person on the Cincinnati team.  I have also appreciated the chance to get to virtually meet and work with employees in the other offices. 

Carpenter Marty Transportation isn’t just about engineering, it’s about building a team and showing appreciation to each member. As a Cincinnati team, we always went to Skyline for lunch on Thursdays. Skyline Thursdays have been a huge part of learning more about my coworkers on a personal level. Every other month, the company has a companywide event called Fun-Loving Thursday. The first and only Fun-Loving Thursday (so far) I have been a part of was bowling. This was just another experience I will never forget because it shows a different side of my coworkers and allowed us to get a little closer as a team.

Finally, thanks to Brad, Dustin, Ben, and Cody for making my summer internship the most memorable and beneficial it could be. Everyone at Carpenter Marty made my summer better than I ever could have imagined! I guess I’ll stick around part-time in the Fall and maybe even in December when I graduate!

Colleen Flach

University of Dayton

Class of 2022