E.T. Simonds Construction has welcomed five Southern Illinois students into the inaugural class of its newly formalized summer internship program.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — E.T. Simonds Construction has welcomed five Southern Illinois students into the inaugural class of its newly formalized summer internship program, a hands-on initiative designed to expose the next generation of construction and engineering talent to every facet of road and infrastructure work.
The 2026 cohort includes Brayden Hickey, Colten Ferguson, Benjamin Harris, Hayden Arndt, and Bryson Canaley, students from John A. Logan College's construction management program and Southern Illinois University's civil engineering program. Each intern was issued a company vehicle for the summer and will rotate through multiple departments, including field operations, layout, quality control, asphalt plant operations, and private commercial work.
While E.T. Simonds has hosted interns informally for years, this is the first season the program has been structured as a true rotation, giving students broad exposure rather than placing them with a single supervisor for the summer.
"Our goal is to make you more well-rounded individuals for wherever life takes you," said Beck Simonds, President of E.T. Simonds Construction. "You have the luxury of being a sponge, take in all you can from the people who take the time to spend with you."
"Twelve weeks from now, your resume is going to look different than it did today," Simonds added.
Now in its third generation, E.T. Simonds Construction is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2026. Founded in 1946 by Beck's grandfather, the family-owned business has grown into one of Southern Illinois's most established infrastructure contractors, performing the majority of its work through the Illinois Department of Transportation alongside a private commercial division.
Simonds told the interns they would have the opportunity to learn from "the best in Southern Illinois doing the type of work we do," and encouraged them to pick up the best practices from each supervisor they shadow and make the craft their own.
The interns expressed a range of motivations for joining the program. One of the interns said he was drawn to the program for the hands-on element of civil engineering work. "Right now the classroom side is what I'm learning. I want to learn the hands-on part too, what you actually will be doing whenever you are a civil engineer or construction manager." He added that he is particularly interested in bridge work and bridge design.
Hayden Arndt, a Du Quoin native studying construction management at John A. Logan College, said he learned about the program through a flyer on campus. Another intern said he hopes to understand "how a project works, how it all runs together, and what all has to happen to get a job done."
"We want more kids to have an opportunity to get into this field. It's a lifetime job," said Laura Wilson, Human Resources and Safety Manager at E.T. Simonds.
Over the course of the summer, the interns will work alongside project supervisors on active job sites across the region, including the I-57/I-15 interchange reconstruction at Mount Vernon, where crews are scheduled to set major bridge beams in June.