In October, Project Engineer (PE) Intern Bella Stone made the last-minute decision to stop by an on-campus career fair targeting civil engineering (CE) majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (SLO), where she was working toward her bachelor’s degree. As a CE major, she was torn between pursuing an internship within the construction or civil industry—a dilemma she shared with Superintendent Zach Pollard, who was there to represent Webcor and recruit future PE interns.

After meeting Bella and learning about her career aspirations and professional interests, Zach encouraged her to explore the construction route, specifically concrete. Their conversation stuck, and a few short weeks later, Bella was sitting in front of a panel of Webcorians interviewing her for a spot in Webcor’s summer intern class of 2023. She realized, however, that she also had a question for them: Why should a civil engineer choose a career in the construction industry?

“They responded by explaining that construction is a much more collaborative career than civil engineering and emphasized that each day in the construction world presents a new challenge to tackle and opportunity to learn,” Bella says. “Immediately, I was intrigued because sitting silently at a desk all day has always sounded like a nightmare to me.”

Seven months later, Bella started her first day as one of nine PE interns on the Biosolids Digester Facilities Project (BDFP) in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. As one of Webcor’s largest, most unique and complicated projects, the BDFP offers no shortage of opportunities for interns to get their hands dirty and staffs more interns than any other active project—a perfect fit for Bella. Since joining BDFP’s team last month, Bella’s wasted no time getting involved in all things formwork, including formwork deliveries, takeoffs, and inventory, and bonding with her fellow BDFP interns.

“We’re fortunate to be on a project that includes so many interns,” she says. “It’s been fun to go through all the trainings and events together and work together out in the field.”

As summer progresses, Bella looks forward to learning more about the vast world of construction through hands-on experience and exposure to the industry’s various facets. Recently, she watched her team build Building 600’s first-floor deck, fueling her excitement for her first deck pour later this summer. Although she’s still debating between a career in civil engineering and construction, her experience as a PE intern thus far has been nothing short of rewarding and continues to exceed her expectations.

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“I’m fascinated by the building process,” she says. “It feels amazing to understand a building’s structural design through both a civil engineering and construction lens.”

After completing her internship in September, Bella will begin her junior year at Cal Poly SLO, where she’ll return to both her CE classes and the Cal Poly SLO Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. As an active team member, Bella balances tournaments and near-daily team practices with a full CE course load throughout the school year.

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“I love anything outdoor or exercise-related,” she says. “I’m from Washington, so I love hiking in the Cascades. In SLO, I love surfing , running, climbing, going to the gym, and coaching kids’ gymnastics teams. I also love dogs—my parents have two of them, and I’m planning to adopt one the second I live somewhere that allows pets!”

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