Britney Calucag had a short trip from her last college class to her first day on the job. She’s been hired as a project engineer by the company that is constructing the Life Sciences Building on Loyola Marymount University’s campus.

“I feel very blessed for the opportunity,” said Calucag, who earned her B.S. in civil engineering. “I was able to serve as an intern during the early construction, and now I have a job helping to build the new building.”

Calucag had interned for the building company, C.W. Driver of Pasadena, on the high-profile project last summer. As part of the project, the company is employing LMU engineering students as interns. C.W. Driver kept Calucag on a full year after her summer internship was done.

For her internship, Calucag read through the requests for information (RFIs) that came to the building site; she reviewed subcontractors’ questions and issues that needed to be clarified; and reviewed product data and installation submittals. “I saw what I was learning in the classroom being applied to the Life Sciences building,” she said.

By then, Calucag, fascinated with the building process, wanted to continue working with C.W. Driver. She was offered a full-time job after graduation. After a short visit home to Hawaii, she will begin her engineering career on the LMU campus.

She says the internship-turned-job has given her a unique perspective on how a career can be a meaningful experience. “I feel like I’m giving back to the LMU community, which has taught me so much,” Calucag said.