Fresh off an internship with Denham Blythe Inc., a design-build firm in Lexington, Megan McDowell knows the advantages of UK’s civil engineering program.

“Compared to other programs, UK offers a more one-on-one approach with professors,” she says. “They encourage you to get involved on campus and become a well-rounded person.”

McDowell is the recipient of a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet scholarship, and interned for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for two summers. Internships are a great idea, since “until you actually get out there and get an idea of what you want and what the industry’s actually like you’re kind of lacking,” she says.

Thanks to her internships, McDowell knows what real-life work as a civil engineer is like. “The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet gave me a view of the actual build process. The design internship with Denham Blythe has shown me the design side of things,” she says. “I’ve gained a 360-degree view of how a project is built in the field.”

The curriculum at UK has also helped. “The way that the upper level is designed is very project-oriented,” McDowell says. “The pressures are very similar to the deadlines you’d have in your career.”

The College of Engineering isn’t all work, though. In addition to her studies, McDowell stays busy as a member of the leadership of the Chi Omega sorority, and serves as an Engineering Ambassador. “You can hold a busy extracurricular schedule,” she says. “I’ve been able to keep busy, both inside and outside the curriculum at UK.”