On Day 1, I went into the building up to the sixth floor expecting an awkward first encounter and expecting to feel extremely out of place in a desk-job. My expectations could not have been farther from what truly came to be. When I walked out of the elevator, and up to the receptionist desk as I was instructed to via email, I was greeted with a warm welcome and a smile, which I also received from the woman I had previously talked to over email, and as well from everyone I went on to meet. The environment was calming and welcoming, the building had a modern style with lots of windows and a great view over the area. The cubicles were nothing like what one would expect; they were open and personalized with a friendly feel. The department I was assigned to for my first day was the Transportation unit, which I overall found very interesting. To summarize my day in a sentence, I spent around 2 hours with a specialist in their respective division of the Transportation unit, of which there were four: Roadway design, Waterway design, Traffic design, and Traffic analyzation. There were presentations and videos as well as full walkthroughs on interesting, expensive, licensed programs and their functionality. I was shown through the processes of designing roads, water pipes, and traffic functions like roundabouts, as well as simulations demonstrating the flow of traffic in real-time on existing roadways versus proposed roadway changes. Overall, my first day was very interesting and I am fully prepared and very excited for my second day.
