Meet our interns from the second round of the Equity & Diversity Scholarship

Emerson Harman is studying Biomedical Art & Visualization with a minor in Biology at Rowan University. “Biomedical art is the use of art to translate scientific and medical concepts into visual form, whether that's through medical illustration, infographic design, 3D modeling, animation, or any other type of visualization,” Emerson says. “I grew up with a strong influence in both the sciences and the arts, and this field perfectly combines those two.” Interning with the Buildings team in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Emerson applied their design acumen to a different realm of subject matter and learned new applications for their skills.

Going into this internship, Emerson knew little about architecture, or Stantec. “I learned so much over the eight weeks of my internship! Throughout the summer I attended as many of the intern programs as I could, ranging from corporate sustainability to model-based design.” For the projects they worked on, Emerson learned Revit and Enscape. “I haven’t used these two programs in biomedical art, and now I might be able to apply them in my work going forward.”

Through their internship, Emerson discovered that visualization skills are becoming ever more valuable in many sectors. “I worked on designs for interior spaces of schools being renovated, incorporating existing designs from murals into a space in what will be the new part of the building,” Emerson said. “For example, I made renderings of what the cafeteria and main entrance to an elementary school might look like, based on a dragon mural that already exists on the original building.” With a newly broadened perspective Emerson says, “I especially love infographics and would love to work for places like National Geographic, NASA, or a museum to create visuals.”

Matthew Chung is studying Biology at the University of Western Ontario and so was thrilled to intern with our Environmental team in Markham, Ontario. As a Junior Ecologist Intern, his role included a mixture of field and office-based tasks. “I was conducting field surveys and habitat assessments for species that are classified as Species at Risk (SAR) in Ontario,” Matthew says. “Back in the office, I completed background reviews for project sites to identify any natural heritage features and SAR in the area.”

Matthew is passionate about sustainability and wants to be involved in ecological conservation after graduation. “I hope to work in initiatives that aim to protect and restore biodiversity in natural areas, as well as engage the public on environmental issues.” Not only was the internship a great hands-on opportunity to practice his profession, but it also opened Mathew’s eyes to the scope of environmental work available to him.

Overall, Matthew says he enjoyed his internship thanks to the different projects that he’s been assigned to. “This allows me to gain experience in the consulting field, both in the office and in the field. It has been useful to see the process of working on a project, from developing the safety protocols, to collecting the data out in the field, to summarizing this information into a report. I hope to apply the skills I have gained from this internship into future academic and professional experiences.”

Isamar Zhu is studying Computer Programming with a minor in Environment and Sustainability at MIT. “After I graduate, I hope to work on projects or research that combine computer science and environmental science,” Isamar says. “Since computer science is applicable to different areas, I’d love to use my degree to contribute to environment-related endeavors.” Her internship was with the Transportation team in Burlington, Massachusetts. 

During her internship, Isamar worked on Transportation projects and helped with plan production, and a wide range of tasks. “I found it challenging at first, since I had no experience coming into the internship, but my supervisor and mentors were great teachers and provided me with everything I needed to learn,” Isamar said. “My manager was extremely thoughtful and wanted to shape the internship to meet my interests. She reached out to people working on different projects, and I was able to observe and even help with their work!”

As a recent high school graduate, Isamar had no prior exposure to the field she was working in but is coming out of her internship with a slate of valuable new skills, hands-on experience, and connections in the engineering profession. “This internship has been very rewarding and enjoyable—the open and encouraging environment was a huge contributor to that.”

This scholarship program is part of a larger company strategy to develop a framework addressing the holistic impact of equity, diversity, and inclusion on creating an engaged workplace culture, prioritizing talent development, and retention—and ultimately elevating design excellence. We want to help the next generation of industry leaders achieve their academic goals in order to better our communities. We believe that through this scholarship and other I&D initiatives, anything is possible.