Civil engineering student Zewell-Ann Matthew (27 years old) is halfway her internship at Boskalis Nederland’s HOV-busbaan project. “I highly recommended an internship like mine, if you’re looking to gain tons of practical experience in an environment where you’re supported, motivated and appreciated.”
After finishing her vocational education on Curaçao, Zewell-Ann moved to the Netherlands to study civil engineering at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. When it was time to apply for an internship, she coincidently stumbled upon a construction site where her eyes fell on the Boskalis logo. “Not much later, I started my internship at the HOV-busbaan in Leiden”, she laughs. “We’re constructing a 4 kilometer long two-lane road for the public bus between Leiden and Katwijk. With additional constructions, such as viaducts, bridges, a bicycle tunnel and a sound barrier, there is so much to learn here."
Zewell-Ann is mainly involved in work preparation, which mostly consists of cost control with a technical twist. “Whether we need to order concrete, formwork or steel plates: I support my colleagues by measuring and calculating what we need, placing the order and checking everything upon receipt. If the actual price matches our budget, it’s a good day for me. As soon as I finish my ‘regular tasks’, I always look around to see if can assist somewhere else. This is the ideal chance for me to learn as much as possible about this field of work.”
According to Zewell-Ann, her lessons at school are interesting, but this is where building plans really come alive. It all starts with mastering various skills. “I already learned how to work with software such as Excel very well, although I knew little about it when I started here. And I also learned how to write short and specific notes, in a way that everyone understands.”
Although Zewell-Ann gets plenty of freedom to find things out on her own, she’s never alone. “Officially I have one internship supervisor, but in reality I can count on all of my colleagues when I have questions – and that’s how I feel: like an actual colleague. The atmosphere on the project is great and I really feel that I have all the space I need to develop myself. When I have a question about concrete? I run it past the contractor. About formwork? I walk down to the carpenter. Everyone is happy to help. Even when I have a question which isn’t directly related to my internship, for instance about a calculation for my exams.”
Zewell-Ann isn’t quite sure yet what she’s going to do after graduating. “I do already know that I would like to stay with Boskalis. There are so many opportunities here, either in the Netherlands or abroad. I used to think I wanted to be a structural engineer – mostly drawing behind my desk – but this internship really opened my eyes to how much fun it is to work on the projects. We already talked about this within Boskalis, and I’m very welcome to take some time to orientate myself within the organization.”
Also excited to become an intern at Boskalis Nederland? Here you can find an overview of our internship vacancies.
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