A Week in the Life of a Summer Intern
Written by: Lauren Scott, 2026 Summer Intern
When I first started my mechanical engineering internship at Altieri, I expected to spend the summer behind a computer learning software, reviewing drawings, and developing my technical skills. That’s certainly been part of the experience, but I quickly learned that engineering is about much more. As my internship winds down, here’s a look at one week that captures what it’s really been like to grow as an engineering intern at the firm.
Monday: Seeing ENgineering Come to Life
The week kicked off with a staff visit to the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, an Altieri project completed in 2023. Site tours have quickly become one of my favorite parts of this internship. They’re a chance to take a break from the screen and see designs become real spaces. Walking through the mechanical and electrical rooms, I saw firsthand how the systems I had been drafting in Revit all summer came together in the finished building.
The coordination of trades was mesmerizing – like a puzzle where everything fits together perfectly. Mike Cahill (Senior Construction Representative) pointed out areas throughout the building where the systems matched (or diverged from) our specs and explained the back-and-forth between engineers and contractors that gets a design from paper to reality.
The Bruce Museum tour highlighted the importance of teamwork within the MEPF field and helped me to better understand how the work I do in the office translates into a final product.
Elizabeth Samuel, 2026 Summer Intern
Tuesday: Teamwork On and Off Site
Tuesday started with our weekly studio meeting, where team members shared project updates – including exciting progress on a new museum project in our studio. Hearing updates on our own museum project right after seeing the Bruce Museum’s finished systems made it easy to picture where this one is headed.
That afternoon we interns stepped away from our desks for a chance to escape (to a local escape room, that is) for a couple of hours. We worked together to get out just in time (with a hint or two along the way).
Tuesday was a reminder that engineering consists of much more than technical knowledge. Whether in a project meeting or working together to escape a locked room, success stems from communication, listening, and teamwork.
Jackie Lewis, 2026 Summer Intern
Wednesday: From Construction Site to Office Culture
I traveled to New York City for an active site tour at the Mellon Foundation. With my hard hat and safety goggles on, I walked around five floors of the New York City townhouse. I got an up-close look at the ductwork, piping, and mechanical units supplying the space. Unlike the Bruce Museum, this tour let me see MEPF systems mid-installation, still being reviewed against Altieri’s standards.
Back at the office, the rest of the interns enjoyed an Altieri summer tradition: Ice Cream Truck Day! The interns got to know coworkers from different studios and departments, all while eating ice cream of course.
Thursday: Back to the Technical Side of MEP ENgineering
After a week filled with engineering site visits and team activities, Thursday was for focused technical work. I spent the day working in Revit, a software tool widely used in the engineering and architecture industries to create and coordinate building designs.
Working in Revit has reinforced how a building design is never created in isolation. From architects updating their floor plans, to structural engineers editing the material choices, numerous disciplines must always work together efficiently and effectively.
I also performed heating and cooling load calculations in TRACE 700. Using information about the building spaces, I calculated the loads needed to help determine appropriately sized mechanical equipment.
Friday: Why Learning Never Stops
To wrap up the week, the interns sat in on a Lunch & Learn: a lunch meeting where Altieri staff learn about new technologies in the MEPF field. Sitting in on Lunch & Learns throughout the summer exposes the interns to parts of the MEPF field that we may not have learned about through our individual projects. These sessions certainly show that in engineering, learning never stops.
Looking Back at my Mechanical Engineering Internship
As my mechanical engineering internship with Altieri comes to a close, I’m leaving with gratitude for everything I’ve learned, the experiences I’ve had, and a new excitement for what the engineering world has to offer. I have a much deeper appreciation for how classroom concepts translate into real, built projects, and I know I’ll be returning to school with greater confidence as an engineer.
