BALTIMORE — Mia Cichon knew at just 7-years-old that she wanted to work in construction. Now, she's helping complete a major infrastructure project in Baltimore.
WATCH: Skanska intern helps transform Howard Street Tunnel
"In school they had an assignment where everybody had to photoshop their face onto what they want to be when they grow up and you know, most people are doing like I wanna be a soccer player. I wanna be the president and I was like I wanna work in construction," Cichon said.
Since May, Cichon has been interning with Skanska, working on the massive Howard Street Tunnel modernization project that began in February.
"Our project is to make this tunnel that used to be about 19 ft tall, at least 21 ft tall," Thomas Costabile said.
For National Intern Day, we spent time with Cichon learning what it takes to complete a project like this one, which included placing large pieces of concrete down to create a new floor of the tunnel.
Cichon says the experience has exceeded her expectations.
"I mean this is a great example how often do you work in tunnels with rail ties," she said.
The hands-on experience has proven invaluable for her professional development.
"To experience construction firsthand very specifically it's been really great because I feel like there's so much to learn here that you will never learn in school or you might learn much later in school it's a great chance to go and learn exactly what you would be doing if this was your full time job every single day," Cichon said.
Thomas Costabile, who interned with Skanska in 2009 and 2010, is now a manager for the tunnel project. He believes this type of experience is vital for the work they do.
"So whereas the intern is learning to apply the stuff that they learned last semester, they're also evaluating whether or not this is a good career for them. At the same time we're silently evaluating them and seeing if they're a good fit for us," Costabile said.
Having gone through the internship himself and now leading others down a similar path, Costabile's best advice is straightforward.
"It's all about asking questions, so whether it's trying to get the internship or when you're actually here asking questions, everything you see out here is a learning opportunity and the people that are working on this job are the best ones to share all that knowledge with you," he said.
Costabile says the Howard Street Tunnel project is on schedule and expected to be complete in the fall.
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