Interns at FPA: Isabel Diaz
In recognition of National Intern Day, we’re highlighting some of the students currently in the Internship Program at French & Parrello Associates (FPA). National Intern Day, held on July 25th this year, is used as an opportunity to acknowledge and recognize the future leaders of our world. Through this spotlight series, we mean to highlight our appreciation for the Interns at FPA and all the hard work they do.
The following is a Q&A with Isabel Diaz, a returning FPA Intern in the Bridges Department. Isabel currently attends Virginia Tech University as a Civil and Environmental Engineering student. She will be entering her senior year this Fall. She started as an intern at FPA in the summer of 2023, and is currently back for Summer 2024.
What has been your greatest takeaway during your internship at FPA, so far?
My biggest takeaway during my internship has been the importance of problem solving. This is my second year here at FPA and one thing that I decided to change this year was how I go about doing my assignments. Last year when I would get projects to work on, I would ask lots of questions that were always encouraged, but not always needed. However, this year when I was stuck on something I would use other resources provided by FPA like textbooks, tutorials, and past projects for examples. Finding ways to answer my own questions has made me more confident in my responses and I feel like I retain the information so much better when I have searched for it myself.
What would you say is the best thing about interning at FPA?
The best thing about interning at FPA is the mentorship opportunities. As an intern, coming into a space of professionals can be a little intimidating. However, at FPA everyone here is so excited to help me learn and become the best at whatever it is I want to do. I ask questions related to the work I am doing. But I am also able to ask questions about my career goals and talk to people who have been in the same position I am in and hear about their experiences. I always feel very welcomed knowing that I can ask many questions and I can ask the same question more than once, and other FPA employees will still take the time to sit with me and give me a thorough explanation for my question. Every day I leave knowing more than I did the day before and it makes me really excited to come to work.
What career path do you hope to take after graduation?
After college I plan on taking my PE exam and start working towards getting my license. Currently, I am still deciding if I want to go back to school or if I want to begin working. However, I do know that I want to continue learning about Structural Engineering and continue working in a field involving Bridges and Transportation as I have loved being in the bridge group this summer at FPA.
What made you return to FPA as an intern in 2024?
When FPA reached out to me over the school year offering me an opportunity to be a part of the intern program for another year I was so excited and grateful to be working with everyone again. What motivated me to return for the 2024 summer was the chance to grow on the skills I had learned from the summer before. By coming back for another summer, I was able to jump right back into work and learn more challenging things that built off my experience from the summer before. Also, being part of the bridge group is a really rewarding thing because everyone is always looking for new and exciting things to teach me. Next week I am even going on a paddle boat to go take pictures of a bridge we will be working on, so very much looking forward to that!
