Join us in recognizing our talented team of interns at SAM! From Field Operations to Applied Technology, Marketing to Human Resources, there was no shortage of opportunity this summer.
Get to know our summer interns:
Emily Bisson
Corporate Services Intern
Austin, TX
Q: What is the most valuable lesson you gained during your internship?
The most valuable lesson I have learned is the value of strong work ethic. Working effectively and efficiently to complete tasks is one of the most important skills I will carry with me.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I love Harry Potter.
Ethan Burns
Survey Operations Intern
Moorestown, NJ
Q: What is one thing you learned about SAM or the geospatial industry that fascinates you?
It’s fascinating to me how we have the ability to capture high-detail videos and images from the sky for Aerial Surveying.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
Skydiving in Hawaii was a lot of fun.
Jacquelyn Cazares
Aerial-GIS Intern
Austin, TX
Q: What is your favorite project from the summer?
My favorite project I worked on was in Catoosa, OK. I learned how to classify LiDAR point clouds with the electric LiDAR team.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I am the same height as Dolly Parton.
Kellie Dillard
Marketing Intern
Austin, TX
Q: What is one thing you learned about SAM or the geospatial industry that fascinates you?
One thing I have learned about SAM that fascinates me is the vast amount of services SAM offers. It has been interesting to learn about the different projects and technologies used, and to see how the company continues to grow.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
My first car was a Volkswagen bug!
Taylyn Hill
Survey Intern
Knoxville, TN
Q: What is your favorite project from the summer?
Over the summer, I have had the privilege of working on the Knoxville Stormwater Project in the office and in the field. I have enjoyed seeing both sides of the effort, including in-office quality control and in-field surveying. I would like to extend a special thank you to Christina Culbert for letting me tag along this summer!
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I am a member of the University of Tennessee Vol Team! With this job, I have the privilege of working with Tennessee Football recruits. Every home game-day, our team shows the recruit and his family, what it’s like to be a Tennessee Vol!
Andrew Hurst
Survey Intern
Columbus, OH
Q: What is the most valuable lesson you gained during your internship?
I would say the most valuable lesson that I took away from this internship was just the general experience that I gained. I feel that I now have a good understanding of work that a surveyor can do as well as the different equipment that is used. I learned a lot about how to correctly go about these many types of jobs.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I have run a marathon before!
Katherine Johnston
Marketing Intern
Austin, TX
Q: What is your favorite project from the summer?
My favorite project from this summer has been researching how SAM can implement AI into our marketing strategy to streamline processes and create effective campaigns.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I love live music or going to coffee shops.
Marisa Leal
Construction Services Intern
Pharr, TX
Q: What is the most valuable lesson you gained during your internship?
The most valuable lesson I gained during this internship is the opportunity to make a connection between my knowledge and implementing it out on the field. I enjoyed working with our advanced technology like Trimble Connect and Pix4D viDOC scanning devices.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I enjoy baking and traveling in my free time.
Kellan Miller
Survey Field Intern
Cincinnati, OH
Q: What is one thing you learned about SAM or the geospatial industry that fascinates you?
The variety and wide range of projects you could be on so it doesn’t feel like the same thing over and over again.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I have 2 nephews and a niece!
Joshua Montemayor
Survey Intern
Dallas, TX
Q: What is your favorite project from the summer?
Drafting a parcel from start to finish and seeing how it helped the project overall.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
All my family is from the Dallas area.
Selia Nunez
SUE Field Intern
Columbus, OH
Q: What is one thing you learned about SAM or the geospatial industry that fascinates you?
One thing I learned is that SAM uses “pig tracking” to help survey pipelines, I think the name and how it’s done is amazing for what SAM does. Teamwork makes the dream work. I mean this with the most confidence that all the good stuff I’ve learned and am currently learning have come from teamwork and being able to rely and have people on my side to help me grow.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I have traveled 20+ hours twice to work for the Columbus, OH office from Florida because of how welcomed I felt and what an amazing workplace it is.
Remington Owens
Survey Intern
Dallas, TX
Q: What is your favorite project from the summer?
I enjoyed working out in the field by the reunion tower in Dallas. Going out to the dinosaur valley area of Texas and performing some survey work was a very incredible experience.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
One fun fact about myself is that I’m one of the family cooks, myself, my grandmother and my mother are the cooks around the house because were good cooks and we all enjoy it. Wouldn’t change it for the world.
Kaylee Padilla
Survey Intern
Knoxville, TN
Q: What is the most valuable lesson you gained during your internship?
The most valuable lesson I learned from my internship was to always ask questions. I was able to learn so much about this industry by asking questions to the experts. Also, these conversations helped me to make connections and cement my knowledge in this field.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I love to crochet!
Kate Ramirez
Survey Intern
Austin, TX
Q: What is one thing you learned about SAM or the geospatial industry that fascinates you?
One thing I have learned about SAM that fascinates me is the interconnectedness between departments as a project may require diverse sets of data.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I love attending live shows/ concerts.
Johannes Scutt
Applied Technology Intern
Columbus, OH
Q: What is your favorite project from the summer?
My favorite project from the summer has been working on adding new features to the locator data tab within SAM Vantage. It’s been advantageous being able to apply my schooling to perform full-stack development while working with others within a large code base.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I once met Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Mason Smith
Survey Intern
Austin, TX
Q: What is one thing you learned about SAM or the geospatial industry that fascinates you?
One thing I have learned from SAM that fascinates me is that SAM is able to take aerial data by using drones, planes, and helicopters. It is very neat that data can be taken from the air and not just the ground.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I like to restore vehicles. Specifically, ATV’s and UTV’s.
Garrett Speer
Survey Intern
Elkhart, IN
Q: What is your favorite project from the summer?
Working on a golf course where the existing drainage system needs to be analyzed and a new system needs to be designed and installed. The use of AI and machine vision to detect different objects via satellite imagery and in some cases the wear level of these objects is fascinating to me.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I love building computers in my off time.
Clay Zapalac
Survey Intern
Austin, TX
Q: What is the most valuable lesson you gained during your internship?
Getting to see first-hand how a successful surveying and mapping company is run. I was able to have a lunch and learn with the CEO and COO in which we got to learn more about the company and the future it is playing in the field. Had a wonderful experience working under and alongside great RPLS managers. And perhaps most importantly got plenty of hands-on training in Civil 3D and MicroStation from knowledgeable Techs.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I enjoy being outdoors, including backpacking and rock climbing at the gym.
Thank you to all of our incredible interns! We appreciate each of your contributions to the organization and enjoyed learning about your individual experiences.
Not pictured:
Ben Bueneman, GIS Intern in Maryville, MO
Dylan Hart, Survey Intern in Columbus, OH
Savannah Kee, Aerial Intern in Austin, TX
Owen Niggemyer, Survey Intern in Columbus, OH
Corbin Nolan, Survey Intern in Austin, TX
Brandon Richie, Survey Intern in Tallahassee, FL
Robert Sproul, Survey Intern in Columbus, OH
William Zwick, Survey Intern, in Cincinnati, OH