What’s it really like to be a Schaefer intern? Read about their experiences below.
Schaefer hosts interns year-round! We believe in providing hands-on experience + mentorship to the next generation of A/E/C professionals.
Engineering interns work directly with engineering teams on active projects across markets + materials. Tasks are reflective of each interns’ experience levels, with increasing responsibility so that our interns can grow + challenge themselves. All interns are paired with a mentor who is their main contact for all things technical + professional.
Schaefer also regularly hosts interns within our business departments. These individuals work on fast-paced teams with diverse projects + responsibilities that move our firm forward.
Now, let’s hear from our recent interns:
Magdalaina Abood
This summer, I had the opportunity to continue my structural engineering experience at Schaefer and take on more technical design responsibilities. One of the projects I worked on was the Cincinnati Zoo giraffe viewing deck, where I designed the retaining wall and stepped footing foundation. What made the project especially interesting was the number of different conditions that had to be considered, including varying soil elevations, handrail loading, changing water pressures, and the stepped foundation requirements. I also gained experience designing CMU walls and lintels, shear walls, canopies, wood joists and beams, columns, and other structural elements, while becoming more comfortable with tools like Enercalc and Ram Elements.
Beyond the technical experience, one of the biggest things I gained from this co-op was a better understanding of how structural engineers approach problems. I learned the importance of questioning results, understanding load paths, and asking questions when I wasn’t sure about something. Working alongside experienced engineers gave me the opportunity to see how classroom concepts translate into real projects, and helped me become more confident in my ability to contribute to a design team. After three semesters at Schaefer, I’m grateful for the continued opportunities to learn, take on new challenges, and grow as an engineer.
Darby Kane
This summer, I got the opportunity to attend a few existing structure site visits. It was a great learning opportunity to learn what to look for when taking measurements of existing structures so we can accurately analyze the existing structure and design new structure to work with the existing. On the design side, I worked on the gravity, lateral, and foundation designs on four 5/3 buildings. It was great practice to improve my skills on one building to the next. I also got to see how different locations can change the design of a structure based on seismic or wind loads.
Additionally, I was able to participate in the summer deck build project in a project management role. I enjoyed getting to move into a new role on the deck build project since I had worked as a modeler + engineer on the previous summers’ deck builds. It was a great experience getting to dip my toes in the water of project management and seeing all the duties a project manager takes on. It helped to confirm my interest to choose the project manager track.
Megan Edie
As an intern during my first summer at Schaefer, I got to dive straight into real-world structural modeling in Revit. I started by drawing details for an existing cold-formed steel (CFS) vestibule and then progressed to new construction wood projects. I learned how to model foundations and floor/roof framing, while gaining a deeper understanding of how structural sections directly translate to the details shown on sheets.
In addition to office work, I was able to go on weekly site visits for shoring reviews with my mentor. I found that these site visits were helpful in understanding how to read construction documents and how what is seen on paper gets translated into real life. Having a dedicated mentor was incredible and I was able to grow + learn much quicker than I had anticipated. I was never afraid to ask questions because the team is so welcoming and supportive.
Lucy Guenther
As an HR intern at Schaefer, I have been exposed to various areas within human resources and how they operate in the engineering field. From planning culture initiatives to digitizing personnel information, I have been able to explore any area I am interested in. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to own + manage projects, with the support of my supervisor. This has given me a taste of what a career in HR may look like and has taught me valuable lessons in time management, team cooperation + organization.
Another aspect of Schaefer that stands out to me is their culture. I spent two summers with Schaefer and chose to come back because I valued my experience and felt supported by the people that surrounded me. I am so grateful for my experience at Schaefer and believe it has set me up for success in the future.
Arushi Darji
Throughout this internship I was able to gather a lot of experience + exposure. The majority of my time at Schaefer was working on 5/3 bank models. On these models, I was able to practice matching up my grid lines and columns with the architectural model. I was also able to practice different section cuts and section details.
With section details: I ultimately learned how to develop details from scratch, pull from Schaefer standard details or from other projects, and create minor alterations to already given details. Section details were a great way to learn more about how a project is assembled and gave me exposure to materials.
Schaefer also gives all interns a group deck project, it was a very hands-on experience to have your own project and get to see your model come to life in person. Schaefer has been a great structural engineering internship where I got to learn so much from surrounding modelers + engineers.
Brian Flores
During my internship at Schaefer’s Phoenix office, I was able to develop my professional + technical knowledge in the topics that I am interested in. This was in part because of the excellent mentorship program that was intentionally in place to foster the skills of young engineers/modelers. My mentor for the program was great as he was always patient with my learning and always willing to help with any question that I had. Besides the dedicated mentor, the people firmwide are amazing to work with – especially here at the Phoenix office.
I was able to work on two main projects this summer that aligned with prior knowledge + experience from my undergraduate studies. One of these projects was 14 different steel-framed buildings that are intended for multi-use purposes. Through this project, I was able to learn and get more proficient with a structural analysis program as well as reinforcing my understanding of steel design from class.
The other project was a four-story apartment building that is wood framed and I was able to design the gravity and lateral elements of the structure. I had prior knowledge of wood design since I was part of the Timber Strong Design Build Competition for ASCE so it was interesting to get to apply the principles in an efficient manner for the design of a real building.
Ethan Stofel
During my time at Schaefer, I have been mainly working on multi-story wood buildings. One project I worked on a lot was Otterbein Senior Living. This project is a four-story wood building; my scope was the wood gravity design (wall studs + headers) and the foundations. For determining loads in my design, I used the ASCE-7 and Schaefer’s code search tool. The wood gravity design was controlled by the NDS code, using Forte for non-stacking headers, and Schaefer’s wood gravity design Excel for typical headers. The foundation design was controlled by the ACI 318 code, using RAM Concept for minimum reinforcement and uplift checks, and Simpson Anchor Designer + HILTI PROFIS for shear wall anchor design.
A few project challenges included a large building angle in the structure, which created some large spans. Parapets at the roof generated high wind loads for the girder trusses + roof trusses. Otterbein also requires a fire-rated exterior, meaning the wood on the exterior differs from wood on the interior. There is also a raised roof condition, which had to be worked around so that the diaphragm could transfer lateral loads from the pop-up. Last, there is a bump-in and a bump-out on the first floor, which required special framing to withstand the large load from floors above. There were many lessons learned during my work on the project, but the key thing I took away is to be very detailed in my calculations + labeling of members on plan. Organization is important to refer back to during QCs and if anything changes.
Zoe Cortes
During my summer working at Schaefer, I got the opportunity to work on a variety of projects. I spent much of my time applying the concepts I learned in school to calculate both gravity and lateral loads on columns, walls + foundations. Throughout this, I learned about vertical load path reasoning, which helped me visualize + understand how a structure transfers load through its different elements. Using my calculated loads, I modeled small structures and designed their components using different programs such as RAM Elements, Enercalc + Elemasonry.
One of the coolest parts about the work I did this summer was that some of my design work made it into the final set of drawings. It’s really rewarding knowing that I got to contribute to the actual engineering involved in the projects I was assigned and I am incredibly grateful for the guidance I received not only from my mentors, but all the engineers + team members at Schaefer who helped me along the way.
Our summer 2026 intern class was incredible. We look forward to seeing what these incredible individuals will accomplish!
