The future of civil engineering is bright, if the most recent intern to work at the Peachtree City Water and Sewerage Authority (PCWASA) is any indication.
This school year, PCWASA welcomed Starr’s Mill Senior John Adams to its workforce as a high school intern eager to learn about building infrastructure to support quality growth and quality of life in the community.
Adams will graduate May 20 with a wealth of professional experience and preparation for college studies in civil engineering. He came to PCWASA through the utility’s partnership with Starr’s Mill High School and the extremely effective Georgia Work-Based Learning Program, which emphasizes Career Related Education that provides age-appropriate experiences to get students college and career ready. Work-Based Learning gives students like Adams the opportunity to receive course credit while working in an industry or environment related to their career path.
The fact a high school student knows his professional interests at such an early age is amazing enough, say Authority officials. But the genuine interest Adams has for civil engineering goes back even further and started a little closer to home.
“About three years ago, I began working with my dad to help him fix up houses and that sparked my interest in civil engineering,” said the younger Adams, who has been accepted to Mississippi State University, where he will begin his college studies in civil engineering this fall.
While working in the private sector at that time, John’s father Glenn was President and Owner of Property Magic, LLC, which analyzed distressed properties for investment and rehabilitation. The elder Adams also is a former Facilities Branch Chief with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, where he too worked on water/sewer industry projects, such as installing force mains, lift stations, and gravity fed sewer systems.
While interning at PCWASA during the first semester this school year, John rotated every two weeks to different areas of the utility, including administration, system operations, construction and maintenance in the field, wastewater treatment at the plants, and more. During this last semester of high school, he has been working with one of the Authority’s consulting engineering firms, gathering even more specific insights in civil engineering as it applies to the water/sewer industry.
The staff at Integrated Science & Engineering, Inc. in Newnan, especially Senior Project Manager Cary R. Dial, has joined PCWASA in taking John out into the field to provide him with salient work experience. The aspiring civil engineer from Starr’s Mill has assisted the Authority and its consulting engineers by inspecting sewer pipes in the Wynnmeade community, reviewing the pipe lining process for sewer line rehabilitation, calculating distances for service lines to tap into the PCWASA system, and completing other industry-related tasks.
“I really like it, because I’m learning what would otherwise take three or four years of school to learn,” said Adams, when describing his time at PCWASA and Integrated Science & Engineering. “It’s fun because I’m not just sitting at a desk; I’m out in the field working with really knowledgeable and nice people.”
