Wongel Abamegal — My Eight Month Internship Experience at Henderson Engineers

I’ve been fortunate enough to intern at Henderson Engineers for about eight months. This opportunity not only gave me extensive hands on experience in some of the engineering disciplines, but also a broader perspective on how the company operates to keep its employees motivated and inspired to complete their daily responsibilities. Inspired by my experience, I decided to share Henderson’s unique office culture out of the myriad things I enjoyed.

Henderson Engineers offers a wide range of engineering design solutions for a building during its lifespan. The firm keeps its promises to its clients through the proper care of its employees, and I can attest to that. As an intern, I was offered technical training classes on the discipline I chose when I started my internship. My hands-on experience was accompanied with classes taught by engineers that have been in the industry for a very long time.

They pass along their knowledge to Henderson’s new generations of engineers to keep the effective design solutions alive as the company grows both in size and diversity of work. In relation to this, I asked a staff member, Yamil Camacho, an Electrical Designer, what he thought of Henderson. He stated, “Henderson can endure its culture if the company continues to access the needs from the employees.”

Furthermore, the laid-back office environment made it easy for me to get to know and enjoy the people I work with. Everyone embodied his or her own best self. There was no room to try to “fit in” because Henderson encourages “standing out”. In fact, leaders and management encourage their employees to access and apply their own set of strengths and skills in the workplace from the moment they walk in. That begins with the Strengths Finders class. This is not only unique, but it’s what made my experience at the firm extra special.

“Henderson brings my best qualities to the surface,” Monica Francis, a Marketing Coordinator, said when I simply asked her what personally excites her about her job. Monica also interacts with clients more often than not, so naturally, I asked what some of our culture looks like from the clients’ point of view. She said, “There are several team building occasions that have morphed into business development opportunities because clients want to get in on the action. Some examples of that are the wing eating contest, paintball showdown, volunteer opportunities, junior engineering day, beer fest, disc golf, etc.” Clients are not only satisfied with Henderson’s design service, but they look up to Henderson to come up with fun activities as well.

During my internship, I was involved in the many opportunities the company offered outside of work. This includes monthly happy hours, an internal women’s network called Empow[HER], company- sponsored volunteering, workout classes offered by amazing trainers/engineers, site visits, as well as company and team events and outings. With each outing and activity I attended, I was able to meet new people and expand my network within the company. I was inspired by every person I engaged with. People did not shy away from sharing their personal and professional experiences with me. This helped me develop into the person I am today as opposed to eight months ago. Overall, I couldn’t ask for a better experience, and I’m grateful for this opportunity and for Henderson Engineers.

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