NOC graduate Jordan Scott recently completed a summer internship at Corlett, Probst & Boyd, P.L.L.C., a land surveying and civil engineering firm located in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Scott graduated from NOC with a degree in Pre-Engineering and is enrolled at Oklahoma State University with plans to study Civil Engineering.
Scott reveled in the opportunity to intern at the Texas firm.
“Besides the heat, this opportunity has been life changing. Gaining the knowledge and work experience has helped me realize my passion for this kind of work,” Scott said.
The Newkirk native and Newkirk High School graduate explained how NOC helped set his current career path.
“Two years ago, I first enrolled at Northern I never would have imagined being in Texas pursuing my dream of becoming an engineer,” Scott said. “It’s not just a dream anymore, it’s actually coming real and I wouldn’t change anything.”
Scott’s schedule at Corlett, Probst & Boyd was built around a number of tasks.
“I had several jobs I completed for the company,” Scott said. “My first job was creating and organizing an excel sheet for a water company’s bidding page that was sent to the company based on the best bid.”
“The main part of my summer was spent on Microsoft Excel,” Scott added. “The biggest job I was assigned was making a database from all the past files. A lot of research and macro coding later, there is an updated and very functional database for all the workers to access. I saw the survey for a parking lot on the document drawn here in the office. It was cool to see it on the document and to go to the site and see it. I had the privilege to attend a meeting in the City of Olney, Texas, with my boss and Profession Engineering here at Corlett, Dean Hinton. I was assigned to record all the past two years of data and compiled it into a helpful and easy to use database and chart for them to monitor the activities.”
“The primary business of the company is land and boundary surveys as well as subdivisions of land,” Scott continued. “The key to a successful business in land surveying is to have a successful and fast working team of draftsmen. The draftsmen of the company communicate with the field crew and receive GPS points. They create a detailed land map of the property being surveyed. The certified land surveyor puts his registered stamp and signature on it. The document is then official and sent to the requesting party.”
Scott said the advantages of the internship are continuous.
“It has seriously been an honor to work for such an amazing company with such amazing people,” he said. “Job experience is how you get somewhere in life. It doesn’t just look good on your resume but it helps you decide if it’s truly what you want to do in life. Obtaining the offer of an internship is the best decision of my life. I couldn’t have done it without Rodney Stephens and Lynn Landrum for helping me get in contact with the owners and be given a chance to come down to Texas. Furthering my learning experience hands-on instead of just in the classroom with a paid internship at a young age is more than I could ask for in my life. I hope my future with the company is promising as this is the most welcoming family of a company I have ever met and could ever ask for. I have no cons about this experience for it has been the best experience of my life.”
The other advantage for Scott was learning to work away from home.
“Being four hours away from home has been the best decision of my life,” he said. “Independence is something every young adult should learn, in my opinion; I don’t think enough people learn the skill of independence. Given the chance to come down here and work with and for an amazing group of people has truly been an experience of a lifetime. I have learned some amazing skills while seeing and assisting with projects in person rather than on paper in a classroom. This internship has made me realize my passion for engineering and this is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.”