Hello! My name is Tessa Weiss and I’m a rising junior studying Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This summer, I’ve had the opportunity to intern as an energy engineer with McKinstry’s Colorado team.

I’ve always been interested in sustainability and energy, and McKinstry intrigued me because the company sees many of its projects through its entire life-cycle—from development to design to construction to commissioning and measurement and verification. As an energy engineer, knowing that my work is actually helping to make an impact at increasing the energy efficiency of buildings is a powerful feeling.

One of the first words I think of when I think of McKinstry is implementation; this is in part because of their ability to design, construct and verify the project all under the same roof. McKinstry doesn’t just sit around and hypothetically talk about how to increase the efficiency of buildings—they actually design, construct and verify a more efficient built environment.

This summer, I’ve not only learned much more about how the construction industry works, but I’ve gotten the chance to apply and expand upon what I have learned at school. From thermodynamics to statics to dynamics to electronics to controls, there seems to be an element from every one of my mechanical engineering classes in a building or mechanical room. After seeing a fascinating and unique application of engineering, I’m walking away from my summer at McKinstry even more inspired to learn and work hard at my classes back at school.

I have been incredibly grateful for not only my immediate colleagues, but also the entire McKinstry community. From my first day here, I’ve felt welcomed and integrated into the company and the projects I was assigned to. As the summer progressed—resulting more complex, challenging tasks—my team was incredibly helpful in taking time from their days to assist me and answer my endless questions about why and how everything worked. They never failed to fulfill my curiosity and desire to learn.

The people at McKinstry are inviting, friendly, smart and passionate about their work. It’s been a wonderful group of people to work with each day, and interning at McKinstry was a great experience for me this summer!