E&A’s summer interns participated in the 2018 Intern Innovation program put on by First National Bank in downtown, Omaha. It was two days full of group challenges, volunteer work and building professional relationships with interns from other companies in the area.
During the conference, the interns were broken into groups and assigned a challenge to solve using innovative, out-of-the-box ideas. This year, they were tasked with creating innovative solutions for a small Nebraska community that would help solve issues with either transportation, housing or job creation. Taylor Seeley, E&A civil engineering intern, and his group were assigned the transportation theme.
Taylor and his group were given the rural town of Farnam, Nebraska as their location. Taylor said that during their research, they found that the biggest obstacle for people living in Farnam was the 30 minute gap between their town and the nearest hospital and shopping centers.
To address this challenge, they decided to create an intricate autonomous car network, complete with GPS sensors, sonar capability and electric motors that could be parked at designed charging hubs when not in use.
Taylor and his team ended up winning second place with their concept, and they recieved swag bags prizes for their hard work.
“I got to meet some really cool people. It was great to hear from other interns about their experiences at different companies.” said Taylor.
Volunteer work was another major aspect of the conference. First National Bank teamed up with Project Houseworks and assigned different volunteer activities to the interns. E&A’s Interns spent time picking up trash on a mile-long stretch of Highway 75, painting the outside of a house for an elderly gentleman and pulling weeds along the fence of a nearby elementary school.
Overall, the conference turned out to be a great opportunity for the interns to network and grow their professional skills. Many of them had great things to say when they got back to their normal duties at the office.
Nicolette Villwok, E&A’s Human Resources Director said, “E&A is very fortunate and happy to have our interns involved in such an opportunity to share experiences and network with other young professionals working throughout our community. This experience allows our interns to develop their teamwork, collaboration, project management and presentation skills.”