IEA Aspire: 5 Years of Growth
A dive into what Aspire has grown to be
What separates an intern from a future industry leader? The answer is opportunity, growth, and support. For many successful engineers, including a number of IEA staff, the first step to success was through the Aspire program.
Former intern John Sola, now Structure EIT, started his career at IEA in the inaugural Aspire program. He looks back and values the patience he received when learning new skills in a new field that got him where he is today.
“There was no immediate rush to learn what I had to learn, especially because it was all new to me,” John said. “They were taking the time to ensure that I learned what I needed to at my pace.”
In 2022, the IEA Aspire Internship program was founded with the purpose of facilitating the development and growth of interns looking to utilize their academic experiences in a professional environment.
IEA’s staff strategically put together a program that has empowered interns to put what they’ve learned in academia to real-world use in real-world problems.
DEVELOPING INTERNS ON ALL FRONTS
At IEA, one of the biggest goals is to foster growth. To do this, IEA staff have ensured that incoming interns are given real challenges in real projects to solve. Interns are learning, collaborating with teams, and growing confidence in their skills and themselves. Interns like John came to IEA completely new to the AEC industry. It was the support and guidance he received that encouraged him to pursue the opportunity.
“When we launched Aspire, we were building the plane while flying it,” said Dallas Area Manager, Kyle Moynihan, PE, CFM. “Five years later, it’s a completely different story. We’ve got a solid program structure; interns are working on real engineering projects, and we’re seeing great outcomes for both the students and IEA.”
While skills and knowledge are critical to an internship, professional development is just as important. IEA is making it a point to develop more than just proficiency and readiness through the internship, such as when John was given the opportunity to work on real-life projects during his internship to strengthen his professional capabilities. “Professional development isn’t just learning new skills – it’s learning how to be in a professional environment,” said Kyle.
When asked about the Aspire program, Emily Babcock, Communications Manager, stated, “I hope that they gain real-world experiences like learning how to effectively communicate, present to others, and develop soft skills that are so important as you grow in the AEC industry.”
It’s because of this that IEA has pursued the initiative to develop interns much more than on the basis of their projects, but to connect with the people around them. At IEA, the staff are here to guide and support interns on their journeys— it’s what makes a successful AEC professional.
2026 ASPIRE KICKOFF WEEK
This summer, IEA is hosting 13 interns across our offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston.
IEA has prioritized making interns develop personal goals that they’ll work to accomplish over the span of their internships. Setting these goals allows each intern to take ownership of their work over the summer. In addition to that, it sets a foundation that they can return to at the end of the summer, where they can review their progress.
MEET OUR INTERNS
EDWARD GALLARDO, PROJECT ACCOUNTING, DALLAS
GEORGE PARKS, DRAINAGE, FORT WORTH
George, a drainage intern, is currently working on creating a headwall library to save on project time and accuracy. George discovered that he liked hydrology and hydraulics after taking a fluid mechanics course and decided IEA was the place to be. He chose IEA because he felt he’d be able to work on something he was passionate about. “I knew I would be able to get to work on what I wanted to do,” George stated.
JOSEE GUTE, AVIATION, HOUSTON
Josee, an aviation intern, returns to IEA this summer following last year’s Aspire program as a municipal intern. She has started her summer making it a goal to visit more sites. One of her favorite things about the program is getting out to see a plan put into action. Josee shared, “They want to grow with you and help develop your knowledge and career to guide you to what you want to do.” Interns like Josee come to IEA and find interest in other disciplines of engineering. The IEA staff have facilitated that growth, allowing Josee to pursue what she wanted to be.
SOPHIA GOAZIOU, ROADWAY, AUSTIN
Sophia is looking forward to helping with a TX 90 project soon. For now, she’s highlighted getting to work with new software and transitioning to an environment where she gets to experience the ‘day-in-the-life’ of a civil engineer. Additionally, Sophia pointed out that IEA was the right choice because, unlike other options, IEA had a variety of areas where she could focus on exploring multiple disciplines of civil engineering over a specific one. Sophia mentions, “I looked at other companies, and they were usually only a certain discipline… I think it’s really nice how IEA does classes over each discipline.”
ASPIRE TO ACHIEVE
This year’s interns are looking forward to the end of the summer when they get to connect with each other at IEA’s Achieve Networking event. This event gives interns the opportunity to meet in-person in addition to presenting what they’ve worked on throughout the summer. This will give each of them a chance to reflect on the goals they set for themselves and see how far they’ve come.
Through their dedication and commitment to empowering interns, past and present, IEA staff have equipped interns with the knowledge, skills, and professionalism necessary to become the next generation of civil engineers. Kyle stated, “You can design a great program, but when you watch someone walk in uncertain and walk out confident, that’s the proof.”
