Dima Shipsey: An Engineer-Lifeguard
Dima Shipsey: An Engineer-Lifeguard
In the summer of 2017, I had to aid and save lives as it is the duty of a lifeguard. I didn’t know I was going to be a lifeguard once more until I started to aid, come to the rescue, save lives, and get lots of sun. What was supposed to be an application to be a county lifeguard, turned into what appears to me an application to be a county engineer-lifeguard. I received a call from Beaufort County’s Traffic and Transportation Engineering Department due to the similarities I had with an engineer when he was the same age as me in college, that is, being in the same engineering discipline and lifeguarding over the summers. Connecting by outlandish means, the engineer wanted to offer me something of greater attribution to my success in my college career, which was to be his engineering intern. Little did he know my lifeguarding skills would come into play that summer though, and little did I know that traffic and transportation engineers are lifeguards.
Just as lifeguards aid when needed, I got to aid in my internship as a traffic and transportation engineering intern. Aid is a simple word used to express assistance, which as an intern that is what I was mostly used for—the busy work that the engineer himself had no time for. Although I assisted mostly, whether in the office or in the field, there were times that I aided. Aid means more than assist because it’s more urgent and has an emotional component attached to it. I felt of actual help, which brings a deeper meaning to my breakaway experience.
Here’s a story. It was a typical early morning for me and the other intern, Chris, to take the county’s F150 and drive about forty-five minutes to a busy intersection to do a traffic count (counting cars over a period of time, fun!). It’s important to note that it was a rainy morning. As we arrived at the intersection, Chris decided he wanted to do the traffic count on a grassy hill between one of the intersection roads and the lake. Chris was never good at choosing a location to do a traffic count, nor driving... He decided to make a U-turn in the direction of the lake instead of turning around a road down. Well, as the result, we ended up getting stuck and almost in the lake because Chris panickilytried to accelerate like a maniac in reverse, which dug holes for the front tires to sink in. He dropped the f bomb but made it clear he was afraid. It was a funny scene to me because I’ve never seen this side of a coworker before in a professional environment. He immediately wanted to call for a towing, but fortunately I’ve been through this kind of situation before at the beach when I lifeguarded the summer before. I told him the secret in getting out of such a daunting and tense situation. I was able to aid him through this situation by not just helping him get out of the holes but by emotionally bringing him content and support because he thought he was done for as an intern. Just as a lifeguard would, I prevented a potential drowning as well—after all, we were just a few feet away from the water and at any moment we could’ve slid down the steep incline.
Just as lifeguards aid when needed, I got to aid in my internship as a traffic and transportation engineering intern. Aid is a simple word used to express assistance, which as an intern that is what I was mostly used for—the busy work that the engineer himself had no time for. Although I assisted mostly, whether in the office or in the field, there were times that I aided. Aid means more than assist because it’s more urgent and has an emotional component attached to it. I felt of actual help, which brings a deeper meaning to my breakaway experience.
Here’s a story. It was a typical early morning for me and the other intern, Chris, to take the county’s F150 and drive about forty-five minutes to a busy intersection to do a traffic count (counting cars over a period of time, fun!). It’s important to note that it was a rainy morning. As we arrived at the intersection, Chris decided he wanted to do the traffic count on a grassy hill between one of the intersection roads and the lake. Chris was never good at choosing a location to do a traffic count, nor driving... He decided to make a U-turn in the direction of the lake instead of turning around a road down. Well, as the result, we ended up getting stuck and almost in the lake because Chris panickilytried to accelerate like a maniac in reverse, which dug holes for the front tires to sink in. He dropped the f bomb but made it clear he was afraid. It was a funny scene to me because I’ve never seen this side of a coworker before in a professional environment. He immediately wanted to call for a towing, but fortunately I’ve been through this kind of situation before at the beach when I lifeguarded the summer before. I told him the secret in getting out of such a daunting and tense situation. I was able to aid him through this situation by not just helping him get out of the holes but by emotionally bringing him content and support because he thought he was done for as an intern. Just as a lifeguard would, I prevented a potential drowning as well—after all, we were just a few feet away from the water and at any moment we could’ve slid down the steep incline.
In that case I taught him a lesson and I was able to aid in an unforgettable situation. While that was just one instance, I was able to help figure out solutions to many problems over the summer, as well. I had to come into aid many times whether it dealt with computers, programs, assignments, or just about any other obstacles that occurred. I came in to aid numerous times and it means to me more now than it did before. Experiences I used to not think had a whole lot of meaning, do now.
Hell, I even got my daily sun that summer! Except getting more burnt than tan because I never carried around sun screen. A lot of my work was in the field, which included days of taking apart traffic lights; taking walks on a fishing pier (odd but the headcount of people utilizing the pier would determine the deconstruction of it); traveling to intersections and doing a traffic cabinet inventory; and other field assistant work like installing sensors into the roads. As far as it goes in saving lives, there was a time I got to assist at a busy intersection that had broken lights. Despite the angry drivers, I helped my coworker in fixing the lights, preventing potential accidents and deaths. On that road that summer, there was a deadly accident, which helped me to do my best because thinking about it had me working under pressure.
I understand how many aspects of my job are taken for granted easily. I don’t know anyone who drives and thinks about traffic and transportation engineering, which I didn’t even know was a field of engineering to begin with. The internship alone is a parable to me that not only taught me importance of this field of engineering, but how past experiences, in my case when lifeguarding, are comparable to the jobs on almost the opposite of the spectrum. Traffic and transportation engineers save lives on a daily bases just as lifeguards do by preventing others from doing hazardous things. They come to the rescue when lights are down just as lifeguard would when someone is in need of assistance or help. And just like lifeguards, engineers get sun when working in the field. As far as aiding goes, every engineer has a story to tell share of their own.
Dima Shipsey is a dual math and engineering major. He is transferring to Clemson University to pursue a Civil Engineering degree. Achievements at Lander University include academic tutor in math subjects; presenting at the Mathematical Association of America Conference at Clemson University; presenting twice at the Academic Symposium at Lander University; and interning for Beaufort County’s Traffic & Transportation Engineering Department. Outside of academics, he volunteered for several events with Delta Sigma Phi, a fraternity he helped bring to Lander, and he was heavily involved in many intramural sports, winning several championship titles.