What is your title and Department? 
 

Andrew: Project and Grant Analyst Intern

Alexandria: I am the Forestry Intern for the Facilities Maintenance Department.

Van: Human Resources Analyst – Intern

Sean: Construction Intern, Department: Construction

​

 

What does your job at the Flood Control District entail? 

​

Andrew: My job has entailed activities such as providing details to project expenses, along with aiding in the closeout and reimbursement processes for Flood Control District projects.
 

Alexandria: I inventory tree planting areas. This includes recording the number and species of the trees, the number of stressed trees (due to the environment, insects, diseases, animals, or vandalism), and then calculate the percent mortality and stressed trees. I also update the polygons for the Tree Planting Area shapefiles on ArcGIS to include new planting areas or to adjust the polygon to the updated imagery. I have also created a few maps to help out in a couple different projects in the department. 

Van: My tasks involve cleaning, analyzing, interpreting, and displaying data using different approaches and business intelligence tools.
 

Sean: Assisting PMs/APMs with their projects and producing detailed guides for the Construction Life Cycle.

​

 

What is your favorite thing about working at the Flood Control District as an intern? 

​

Andrew: So far, my favorite thing about working here is the variety of work that I get exposed to just in one department and that one department can cover so much of the business activities here at Flood Control.

​

Alexandria: Being able to go and meet so many people and to see how the Flood Control District operates. I got to job shadow a few times and have had the opportunity to talk to many different people about what they do. It is really interesting to learn about everything happening in the Flood Control District and with its partnerships. 

​

Van: meeting smiling faces everyday is what I like about coming to work here. Seeing how people welcome you giving you a sense of belonging, so you are more willing to put all your effort on your job.

​

Sean: Being able to learn more about my given field, especially in a position where I am providing a service to the public.

​

​

What’s the coolest thing you’ve worked on over the past few weeks of your internship?

​

Andrew: The coolest thing that I've gotten to work on so far was putting together journal entries and funding transfers, since it showed me how money gets moved around projects which is a very big part of what is done in PGA to keep projects budgets in balance and keep them moving forward.

​

Alexandria: The coolest thing was probably inventorying the Willow Waterhole detention basins. In total it took me about two and a half weeks, but I ended up tallying just over 10,000 trees. It was such a beautiful project, and seeing how the city came together to create this space was really awesome to see firsthand. 

​

Van: I have created the most complicated pivot dashboard in Excels than I have ever done in my entire student life.

​

Sean: I got to work on a program that can automatically plots reviews by month so we can analyze a projects progress.

​

​

What has been your favorite project so far? 

​

Andrew: My favorite project so far has been detailing expenses for the FEMA grants, it was a long process that took a while to complete but with the data provided this one sheet can provide details and analysis of any tract or expense connected to the project.

​

Alexandria: I think my favorite project was inventorying the tree planting areas in U100-00-00. It was just so quiet and peaceful, and the space has really grown to flourish. I saw so many different animals and insects, it was amazing to see all the habitat our trees and grasses provide.

​

Van: My favorite project was to analyze the demographics of employees at HCFCD and found some interesting insights from the data I gathered.

​

Sean: Working on our reporting system, so that we are able to track our progress on projects more effectively.

​

​

What is the best career lesson you’ve learned so far while being an intern for the Flood Control District? 

​

Andrew: When I first got here, I was quite nervous being that I didn’t have any experience in PGA, but an important career lesson I've learned is that not only will you be taught the specifics of your position, but everyone is continuously learning together all the time.

​

Alexandria:  If you have the opportunity, go for it! 

​

Van: Always keeping an open mind because you never know what you will learn from the given data and asking for help if needed since I cannot finish my project if my questions are unanswered or unable to be found online. 

​

Sean: Professional Communication and Technical Writing Skills Improvement. 

​

 

What’s the best thing that’s happened to you so far this week? 

​

Andrew: The best thing to happen this week has been being able to volunteer and be a part of the Street Olympics with Precinct 1 along with my fellow interns. 

​

Alexandria: Being mentioned in the Letter from the Executive Director. It was very unexpected and made me feel like I was really a part of the bigger picture. Also, today I go my inventory count over 20,000 trees!

​

Van: My youngest puppy learned a new trick. He could now stay and stop biting when I said no.

​

Sean: Professionally: I presented my Project Money vs Time Graph Generator during our PMs and APMs meeting. Personally: I was able to move to a different section of a class for the Fall Semester at TAMU to have no classes on Friday. 

 

 

What is something about yourself that most people don't know? 

 

Andrew: Something most people don’t know is that I don’t have a single favorite food and, much like the weather in Texas, it changes all of the time. Also most people don’t know is that I am a university cheerleader and have been participating in this sport for over 5 years. 

​

Alexandria: I love to cook. So much. One day I hope I’ll have the opportunity to go to culinary school and I dream about opening a restaurant in my free time. Can you do that in free time? I don’t know. Dream big, learn later :)

​

Van: I can draw pretty well. I’m an introvert and I love to sit in a quiet coffee shop to read, play games, or just drink my favorite Frappuccino.

​

Sean: I was once ranked top 500 globally for The Elder Scrolls Legends online trading card game.

​

​

What was your first job? 

 

Andrew: My first job was back in 2016 where I began working as a swim coach for a summer league team called the Blue Marlins

​

Alexandria: I worked at Murray’s Cheese Shop in a Kroger for nearly three years… I now have an obsession with cheese. 

​

Van: I was voted and employed by South Seattle college as a Public Relation Officer for Student Government where I organized events, workshops, outings, and bringing students together.

​

Sean: My first professional job was with HTS Advanced Solutions as surveying and 3D scanning technician. 

​

 

What do you like most about your job? 

 

Andrew: What I like most about my job is the abundance of amazing people that I get to learn from and work with every day.

​

Alexandria: I love being able to work outside and see what all these sites look like. I love putting all the trees, animals, and habitats to the number. K524-11-00? The coolest dragonflies you’ll ever see. E535-01-00? The cutest little bunnies. D500-10-00? Amazing elm trees. I told the ones we planted they have to grow up like those. 

​

Van: I always learn something new about my job, not including the tasks themselves but I learn different way to solve a problem, or to shorten the time to finish one.

​

Sean: Flexable Working Environment and Commutive and Friendly Coworkers.

​

 

What motivates you to wake up and go to work? 

​

Andrew: What motivates me working at Flood Control is that I can see the impact I am having on the county as I pass up and over all the bayous and construction that goes on around them to help us be safer when flooding occurs.

​

Alexandria: Knowing that what I do contributes to the betterment of our waterway systems and that the work here at HCFCD will actually save people’s lives.

​

Van: The fact of trying to build discipline habits is helping motivate me to wake up and go to work.

​

Sean: I enjoy completing task and socializing with my Coworkers.