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This summer, civil engineering major Daniel Weaver ’07 (Cogan Station, Pa.) gets to be a big fish in a small pond through an internship at Keller Consulting Engineers hosted by owner and president Donald Keller ’86.
At the small firm, Weaver has many responsibilities, including the on-site inspection of sewer pipe installation, helping with the design of a septic system for a house, and performing bridge inspections for Northampton County.
His main project, however, is to design a detention pond in Nazareth.
“I have actually gone out and walked the site to see where the water will drain from, and from that I had to calculate how much water would drain to the pond, and so on,” says Weaver. “Right now I have the calculations done and am finishing drawing the plans in AutoCAD.”
Working at a small firm has exposed Weaver to different facets of the engineering field.
“So far, I have learned how a small engineering firm works. Everyone has to be educated in a variety of fields, because you never know what you will be working on from one day to the next,” he explains. “One day you are working on a detention pond, the next day you are writing a report for erosion and sedimentation guidelines for the construction of a parking lot.”
Keller emphasizes the importance of each engineer having multiple roles at the firm, including himself.
“I am the president and owner of Keller Consulting Engineers,” says Keller. “I am fully responsible for everything that goes on in this office.”
He adds that Weaver is performing well and enjoys learning in the hands-on environment.
“[Weaver] is attentive and willing to learn. I personally like working with students, passing along what I have learned in 30 years of business.”
Weaver is grateful to Keller and others who have contributed to his experience.
“Keller and the other professional engineer that works there have been very helpful,” he says. “They give me a lot of work to do, but they are there to help whenever I get stuck. They also make sure I’m actively learning as I go.”
A civil engineering graduate, Keller was in the special programs department and was one of a few students to graduate having already acquired a professional engineering license in Pennsylvania. He worked for another alumnus for 13 years prior to graduation and afterward started his own company.
Weaver is president of Baseball Club.