InTucker Magazine

My Summer in Tucker

My name is Micheal Abebe. I went to Tucker Middle School and Tucker High School and I am currently a senior Civil Engineering major attending Kennesaw State University.

Throughout my college career, I took different civil engineering classes and found they were more theory based. I couldn’t relate it to real projects until I interned here in Tucker. Interning for the City of Tucker, I was able to implement what I learned in class in the field with the help of City Engineer Ken Hildebrandt, Superintendent Sam Durrance, Assistant City Manager Cindy Jenkins and Land Development Inspection Manager David Schmid.

I must be honest that when I first started, I was extremely nervous and afraid of everyone and everything. Eventually, once I was doing site visits and asking questions of Sam and doing walk-through inspections with David and Ken and noticing how receptive and informative they were, my anxiety came down. I learned a lot on how things work regarding city planning and zoning by asking questions.

Another fear that I had to overcome was public speaking. I had to make a presentation about my experience as an intern and what I have worked on. The challenge wasn’t creating the PowerPoint, it was telling my story as an intern in front of people. Once that was over with, it built my confidence.

Over the course of the past two and a half months, I’ve been tasked with numerous projects that have taught me how city governments operate. I collected data to improve the sidewalk radius for trucks to maneuver better, studied traffic patterns on Brockett Road and Cooledge Road to better understand traffic flow and to create a safe exiting lane. I also worked on the Mountain Industrial sidewalk improvement project. Ultimately, I got my GSWCC Level 1A certification.

One other major takeaway from my summer internship is the people I worked with at City Hall, the City Hall Annex and the Tucker Recreation Center. I was so privileged to work under and absorb knowledge from Cindy, Ken, David and Sam.

As a native of Tucker, I would say that I am leaving momentarily with the knowledge and skills that I have absorbed in the time that I was interning. I developed skills that I can and will use in the future. I want to thank you, the City of Tucker, for the opportunity.