August 03, 2026
Tehilla Gani-Yesufu is applying the skills she acquired at Mizzou Engineering to power line engineering projects in her summer internship with QISG.
At Mizzou Engineering, we enable students to pursue their curiosity and set a trajectory in careers that strengthen communities around the world. This summer, civil engineering undergraduate Tehilla Gani-Yesufu is using her internship at Quanta Infrastructure Solutions Group (QISG) in Overland Park, Kansas, to make a difference.
“I chose civil engineering because it improves the quality of life of the public,” she said. “A power line provides electricity to millions of homes and businesses, but it’s the work of a handful of engineers and linemen.”
As a design engineering intern, Gani-Yesufu assists full-time design engineers with current transmission line projects — sometimes building models from scratch and sometimes working on established models.
“I get into the office at 8 a.m. and start on whatever has been assigned by my mentor; this can be anything from performing checks on a powerline design in PLS CADD to working on fit checks for structure assemblies,” she said. “There’s never a dull moment.”
Gani-Yesufu said her classroom experience set her up for success on the job.
“My coursework sharpened my attention to detail and taught me the value of consistent effort, showing up and doing the work even on days when it would be easier not to,” she said. “Mizzou’s engineering classes don’t reward cramming. They force you to actually understand the concepts, which has helped immensely in my internship. The habit of learning for real, not just for a test, has stuck with me.”
Gani-Yesufu credits Mizzou Engineering resources with helping her build her self-confidence.
“Since my freshman year, I’ve attended every career fair and the prep events leading up to them,” she said. “Career Services helped me refine my resume with direct feedback from recruiters and walked me through interview prep one-on-one. Through orgs like the National Society of Black Engineers [NSBE], I worked on my pitch because I refused to fall into the stereotype of engineers who can’t speak in public. A combination of all those resources landed me my internship.”
Gani-Yesufu encouraged other students to consider career options outside their focus areas.
“My office has a mix of civil, electrical and mechanical engineers,” she said. “Most of the learning happens on the job. The most important thing is knowing how to think like an engineer and being able to solve problems.”
Aside from valuable work experience, Gani-Yesufu said her internship has given her a new perspective on power and its importance in our lives.
“It’s not something we consciously think about,” she said. “We just flip a switch and expect the lights to come on, but there’s a lot of infrastructure behind making that action seamless. It’s also been fun to drive by poles and know exactly what type they are.”
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