Student testimonials – Kevin Hamel

September 9, 2024 – Defence Stories

My name is Kevin Hamel and I’m a student project manager at the Valcartier base. From the time I was young and up to four years ago, I lived in the city of Shannon with my parents, who are from Drummondville. For four years now, I have lived in an apartment in Quebec City, in the Sainte-Foy neighborhood.

I have been attending Laval University in Sainte-Foy for over three years and am a student in the field of electrical engineering. I worked in construction as an apprentice electrician under the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) for two years before going to university.

I enjoy keeping fit and staying healthy. Some sports activities I like are hiking and playing basketball with friends. In my spare time, I play video games and watch tv shows. I also enjoy working on various projects, such as carrying out electrical renovations in my two sisters’ houses, building an automated greenhouse in my apartment, assembling my office computers and designing 3D products with Fusion 360.

Though I’m not bilingual, I manage fairly well in English. I primarily speak French.

To find my internship, I created a professional profile on the Laval University portal and applied to various internships. Initially, I didn’t apply to the Department of National Defence (DND)—they contacted me after consulting my professional profile, I had an interview, and I obtained the internship for the summer. I was even able to renew my contract with the Department after the summer during the fall session, on a part-time basis. I’m now in my second year as an intern at DND.

I work for the Real Property Operations Group as an assistant student project manager in electricity/mechanics. I focus on the electrical aspects of projects. My project mentor assigns me various projects in order to give me a good overview of all of the unit’s projects. Since I started at DND I have:

• Designed plans and specifications for a project to install an electrical terminal
• Designed and assembled a bike dynamo for the Group’s energy awareness committee
• Helped in the programming of a search system in the Department’s database
• Attended several site visits and inspections for both ongoing and completed sites or surveys for the plan design of various projects, such as electrical vehicle charging stations, installations of ventilation systems, heating systems, pad-mounted transformers, helicopter runway lighting, etc.
• Participated in the set-up and installation of electricity meters in several buildings at the Valcartier base.

My experience at DND has been very positive. I’m learning a lot by participating both intellectually and in a hands-on manner in many different projects. I like the spirit of collaboration here, which creates a welcoming atmosphere. I always have new challenges to work with, and this enables me to take on projects of increasing scope and size.

My team is very involved and always ready to answer my questions. It’s easy to communicate with the team both through email and through the internal phone app, which allows us to make calls throughout the world for free.

Right now, my major projects involve contractor management for the installation of charging stations at Valcartier base and the design of the plans and specifications for street lighting systems in certain problematic areas. My goal for the end of summer will be to finish the installation of the charging stations, to close the project component assigned to me and to have the street lighting plans and specifications ready for a tendering process before my contract ends.

Contact

• If you are a student and want to submit a testimonial, please send an email to HRCiv_Communications_RHCiv@forces.gc.ca.
• Hiring managers, if you need support finding a student for your team, contact the National Student Hiring Team at CIV.DND.NationalStudentHiring-EmbaucheNationaleEtudiants.MDN@forces.gc.ca.