Summer Intern Series: Meet Ben Becker

Written by: Stephen Major

Ben BeckerThe Bureau of Reclamation offers diverse internship opportunities for students interested in engineering, hydrology, biology, chemistry, geology, and much more. At Reclamation, we want to see college students land a job that will fulfill their interests.

Ben Becker comes to Reclamation from Pine, Colorado, and studies Mechanical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. He heard about the Reclamation internship opportunity from his father, who works at Reclamation himself, and suggested it as a preferable alternative to bagging groceries at the local grocery store for another summer.

As part of this summer’s internship, Ben worked to build a car chassis. He learned how to weld, navigate his way around a machine shop, and worked with professional engineers. This hands on experience helped to bring his the mechanical engineering education to life, and Ben credits the experience with making him a better, more practical-oriented engineer.

Over the course of his internship, Ben came to feel like an important member of the Reclamation team; and is glad to have developed strong working relationships with many of his colleagues.

When he graduates from the Colorado School of Mines, Ben hopes to find a private sector job doing engineering for aircraft or other vehicles. He is also keeping Reclamation in mind as a potential career; with an eye towards working either in a laboratory or in the security division.

Published on August 10, 2017