And so It Ends.

    And yet, some may say it's only the beginning, which may be more true for me than others, since I may continue to work at Diamond Z over the summer.

    I'll start off the final post with a brief recap of the last day. Dann and I first went out to investigate some asphalt at an oil site to see if it could be approved for rework. Considering the size of the hole it seemed a little overboard at first, but then seeing the dirt layer directly underneath it, I can see where his concerns could come from (the layer seems way too thin):

    After that, I continued to edit my site plan. Unfortunately, I didn't finish, but that is one of many reason for me to go back.

    Overall, I would call this a successful endeavor, although I am a little sad I didn't get to do as much as I wanted to during the time allotted (mostly because of the unfortunate event with Dann's smaller client), and therefore I didn't have much to do that could be relatively easily controlled. The other larger companies can see who edits their site plans, and I don't think they would want some high schooler giving them plans that they would then go on to use around the country. Maybe one day.

    I learned how to use AutoCAD, which as far as I can tell, is an industry standard for electrical and other related engineering drawing work. James Ciofani was in another engineering firm, but wound up using the same software, with us even using the same tutorial video! That was really cool, because it showed me that what I was learning would not just apply to my work at their company, but in other future endeavors I may have.

    I want to thank Dann Stapp for allowing me to have this opportunity to learn from him and his team! Because of the specificity of the company, and the nature of their work, I don't think it's possible for Hawken to have a community service day their, unless we want like 50 kids to do a bunch of red lines.

    My biggest takeaway from this experience would be to work with people. There's only so much you can do by yourself, and there's always someone else that can do at least one particular thing better than you can, so why not let them? There's no shame in working together with a team and asking each other for help. Dann Stapp himself used to use AutoCAD, but now he leaves it to people like Taylor instead, because he recognizes his talents can be more efficiently used elsewhere. That is the kind of leader I strive to become, a person who does his part to the best of his ability, while correctly attributing others to do theirs, trusting them to do their work, while simultaneously pushing them to be better. 

    The best part about pushing others to work harder, is that all I have to do is work hard myself. The environment is based on how the boss handles it. If they do something, than others will see that as the expected. If they raise their voice to solve issues, talk behind people's back, or other things, than those that work under you will see that as okay, and do the same. I had the pleasure to work under Dann, who didn't do any of those things, (maybe a little teasing here and there, but sometimes we needed that to keep the mood light on a long day) and instead lead by example, diligently doing his part and pushing the team forward, one client at a time.

My advice to rising Juniors and Senior in their efforts would be simple: find out what you enjoy doing, or a field you may want to go into, and try it out! Find some sort of internship relating to it so you can get a taste of what the field is actually like beyond the classroom setting. That's the whole point of Hawken Projects in my opinion, and let's be honest, if you're reading this as a rising Junior/Senior, you know you want to do that anyway, so get out there and do it!

Thanks for joining me on my Hawken Project Journey at Diamond Z Engineering!