Pioneers’ Kling getting early taste of engineering experience with internship

Platteville, Wis.- Barb Kling had just finished her first season on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team when she started to plan for her summer. She knew she wanted to get experience in the engineering field and applied for a summer internship with the City of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Kling, a civil engineering major, was offered a position to be an intern and work with the city's engineers, construction crews and contractors. Her interest started near Eau Claire in her hometown of New Richmond, Wisconsin.

"I first got involved in high school," Kling said. "They offered a few engineering classes to take, and I took them. It was just a little introduction to what I really liked to do, build things and figuring out different systems and how they worked. I was really interested in it, and that is why I chose the major."

Once Kling knew she wanted to pursue civil engineering, it was an easy decision to commit to the Pioneers and Head Coach Kelly McNiff and her staff.

"The engineering program is really good, so obviously I knew I wanted to go to school there," Kling said. "I talked with Coach McNiff and that was the recruitment. I knew I wanted to go to UW-Platteville for school." 

Now Kling is putting in 12-hour days for the City of Eau Claire, learning from the city's civil engineering department. 

"I get to the job site at 7 a.m. and I meet the crew the city hired to do the work," Kling said. "I finish the day off by doing a daily report with what was completed and how much pipe may have been put in, so the city knows how much to pay the contractors. A typical day can be 12 hours long."

Kling's responsibilities go a bit further than marking down the number of pipes going into the ground. She uses an online tool that reads the plan – something she learned this year.

"The plans we have to look at were created by an online tool that is similar to AutoCAD," Kling said. "I took an AutoCAD class this year, so when I am looking at the plans and reading the plans, I recognized it from class."

Kling showed her enthusiasm in her interview for the position and continued to be an asset for the City of Eau Claire. 

"She was enthusiastic about working in municipal government and excited about that type of work," City of Eau Claire Civil Engineer Christien W. Huppert said. "She has been an asset to our field team working with contractors and homeowners during the construction season." 

Kling's plan is to graduate in four years. She knows the commitment will be challenging with basketball and adding an environmental emphasis. 

"It looks like four years now, I don't want to take too much at a time, but I am planning for four," she said.

Following graduation, either in 2025 or 2026, Kling has her sights set on government work, but on a larger scale than the municipality work she is enjoying now.

"I like working for the City of Eau Claire, but I have really been thinking about Engineers Without Borders. I think that would be fun," Kling said.