Corps recruits, promotes Norfolk native ODU engineering student

Posted August 26, 2009
By Brittany Brown
Norfolk District Public Affairs

8/26/2009 - NORFOLK, Va. — Alicia Farrow, a recent civil engineering graduate at Old Dominion University, is one of 13 Hampton Roads students benefiting from the Norfolk District's Integrated Internship Program.

Farrow learned about Norfolk district's internship program from ODU's career management center's e-recruiting website. The website is designed to help students search for employment, internship and externship opportunities. After contacting Keith Lockwood, project manager of the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) Norfolk district's internship program, Farrow applied for and was accepted a few months later.

As an intern with the district's design section and operation branch from February 2008 to July 2009, Farrow assisted project managers with various tasks, such as updating the dredging information system. In her time with Norfolk District, Farrow's first-hand accounts include site visits to the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area. Craney Island, a 2,500-acre confined dredged material disposal site, provides an economical and environmentally sustainable repository for material dredged within the Hampton Roads harbor.

Farrow also accompanied district engineers aboard dredging vessels for maintenance dredging including the Lynnhaven Inlet in Virginia Beach and the maintenance-dredging project at the United States Coast Integrated Support Command in Portsmouth, Va. Whenever possible, the District uses dredged material for beach nourishment, habitat restoration, oyster ground restoration, marsh creation or other beneficial uses.

"The best thing about my internship is that the experience is transferable. I am able to apply some of what I have learned from my classes to my work. I am even able to take what I learned here (Norfolk District) and apply it to my school work," states Farrow.

Farrow, who spent 18 months at the Norfolk District as an intern, said, "One of the highlights was the flexibility to have assignments in different sections. Farrow's interest in dredging and beach nourishment has prompted her to continue her education in pursuit of a master's degree in civil engineering starting this fall at Old Dominion University.

"When I start working on my master's degree in the fall, one of the classes I will be taking is, "Dredging and Beach Engineering," which is great because just from working in my section (at the Norfolk District) I have already learned so much about dredging," she added.

In addition to pursuing a master's degree in civil engineering, Farrow expanded her knowledge of engineering by taking classes offered by the Army Corps. Just recently, she completed a hydrographic survey techniques course in St. Louis.

In July, Farrow's internship ended when she was promoted to civil engineer. Farrow received public recognition for her promotion from an intern in the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) to a civil engineer during a quarterly (Norfolk District) town hall meeting Aug 11. Some of Farrow's new duties as a civil engineer include becoming district project manager for the Tangier Channels Federal Navigation projects and the Tangier Island Section 107 Jetty project.

Farrow's short-term career goal is to become a licensed professional engineer.

For more information on student employment opportunities with Norfolk District, visit http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/student.asp,