Kortney West Joins LFA’s Water Resources Department
LFA welcomes back Michigan State University graduate Kortney West, who worked as an LFA intern the last two summers and now joins us full time.
She said the two summers of field and office work gave her real exposure to ongoing engineering projects and helped her direct her career.
“My internships gave me an edge on what I was learning the last two years of college,” she said. “They’d say something in class, and I’d be, like, ‘Oh, I actually know what they are talking about because we were working on that at LFA!’ It helped me a lot in my classes.”
West lives in Niles, MI. Her love for engineering developed growing up the youngest of six kids. West’s dad works in residential construction so, in high school, she told her counselor she thought she might go into construction. But the counselor noted her aptitude for math and encouraged her to try engineering.
“I’ve always just loved math and I’m good at it. I’m the only one in my family like that,” she said.
Kortney said she accepted a position at LFA because the medium company size gives her the opportunity to build connections with staff. College friends at larger firms told her they were bored and not able to do hands-on engineering early in their careers.
“I feel like, here, I was actually able to do work,” she said.
Kortney she learned about LFA through word of mouth and appreciated its wide portfolio of different types of engineering shown on the website. As an intern, she was able to try out working in several departments, which made her happy to accept a fulltime Water Resources position when it became available after graduation.
When she’s not at work, she enjoys fishing, mostly from a canoe or kayak, on several area inland lakes. West is also learning to crochet, loves puzzles and belongs to South Bend’s Uzima! Choir, which sings traditional African music.