Photo By Andre Hampton | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District Army Fellow John Kubiak participates in...... read more read more
For students graduating college, choosing the right first job is a difficult decision, often seen as a trajectory-setting step for an entire career.
But for a select group of new employees in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District, a first job has become a transformative experience, helping them up to find their ideal fit and become leaders in the organization.
Picture a budding civil engineer thinking, “Do I want to be involved in structural engineering, solving for stress and strain relationships in structures? Do I want to be a geotechnical engineer, analyzing what’s under the earth’s surface to assess suitability for projects? Or maybe I want to go into project management to communicate with a team of engineers but not be as involved in the design.”
While each of these careers is rewarding, not all will allow them to reach their full potential.
With the Army Fellows Program, new team members at the Buffalo District can try multiple roles and get training in a variety of fields while being paid as full-time interns. Based on education and prior work experience, the fellowship may be one or two years. But regardless of duration, fellows receive benefits that few other full-time employees are offered.
The strength of the program is its free-form design.
Fellows are given job assignments known as rotations, picked by their supervisors and able to be changed to meet the fellow’s interests and talents over time. At the Buffalo District, some fellows rotate through a dozen different teams for a few weeks each. It’s a fast-paced opportunity to learn what the team does and how it advances the organization’s mission to deliver solutions to the nation’s toughest engineering challenges. Others prefer to concentrate on a single subject right away, completing only one or two rotations, but quickly gaining advanced knowledge on a subject.
The program has a history in USACE that stretches back to 1983 and has contributed to the development of the organization’s leaders ever since. Its prolonged use and goals are no secret – it provides an on-ramp for new employees with experiences few other programs could ever offer.
“The Army Fellows program develops leaders in USACE by empowering intern employees to try different sections, make new connections, and take training opportunities to expand their skillsets,” said John Kubiak, a recent graduate of the program and current mechanical engineer with the district’s Cleveland Resident Office said. “You’re able to learn from watching and working for different supervisors over the course of two years.”
And while most employees of USACE are paid through project-specific funding, Army Fellows are paid by the Department of the Army, giving them the freedom to work on any project their supervisor deems necessary. The program also funds rotations and specialized training outside the district, so fellows can gain experience with teams across the country and learn from a wider group of experts.
“The fellows program develops leaders in USACE by teaching us how to speak different ‘languages,’ break out of silos, and understand what different team members do and need,” said Jane Clark, a former fellow now working as a civil engineer in the Buffalo District Cost Engineering Section.
The Army Fellows Program develops employees who not only find their place within USACE, but also gain the perspective and skills needed to lead the organization into the future.
The Buffalo District delivers world-class engineering solutions to the Great Lakes Region, the Army and the Nation to ensure national security, environmental sustainability, water resource management, and emergency assistance during peace and war.
For 250 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been at the forefront of the nation’s engineering excellence, responding when called. From constructing fortifications during the Revolutionary War, to building the infrastructure that saw America’s strength grow militarily and economically, USACE’s mission has always been to deliver engineering solutions for our nation’s toughest challenges. Learn more at www.usace.army.mil/Home/250th.
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2025 09:16 |
| Story ID: | 548884 |
| Location: | BUFFALO, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | WOODCLIFF LAKE, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Army Fellows Program Builds USACE’s Next Generation of Leaders, by Avery Schneider, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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