KA’s 2019 interns reflect on their summer | Part I

The summer months are a critical time for construction, and there’s no better time to welcome a group of college interns for hands-on learning in roles across the industry. This summer 15 college interns have been gaining valuable professional experience on large-scale projects spanning all five KA offices. Below, some of them recently reflected on their summer at KA, what they learned, and what they hope for their future careers.

Brenna Ripp, Project Engineer Intern – Rochester

School attending and major:

Iowa State University, Construction Engineering

Career goals:

My career goals would be to work either as a project manager or as an estimator. While being a project manager would be an exciting job, I think that being an estimator would allow me to experience lots of projects in a shorter amount of time. Wherever I end up in my career, I want to keep learning about the industry and new practices.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”Brenna Ripp” link=”” color=”#CC0202″ class=”” size=”24″]”It may be intimidating coming into such a large company, but everyone will make you feel welcome and include you into the KA family.”[/perfectpullquote]

Biggest takeaway from working at KA:

Being confident in yourself will take you far in your career.

Highlights from the summer:

Being able to see so many different types of projects in a short amount of time. Being in the estimating department has allowed me to do takeoff for all different kinds of projects, and really learn how to read multiple different kinds of plans. You will learn more in your time at your internship than you did while at school, actually being able to apply what you learned makes it come full circle.

Biggest challenges:

Letting myself make mistakes and not being afraid to ask questions to anyone in the office.

Any advice to a new intern:

To not be afraid to speak confidently about your work and with your coworkers. You always want to come off as confident in your work even if it might be incorrect, and don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t know.

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Max Vergeldt – Project Engineer Intern, Duluth

School attending and major:

North Dakota State University, Construction Management

Career Goals:

I want to become a Project Manager for a commercial construction company. At some point I’d like to travel and do projects all over the country.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”Max Vergeldt” link=”” color=”#CC0202″ class=”” size=”24″]”I really enjoyed my summer working for KA. It went by faster than I thought possible, but I learned a lot and I’m excited for my future in construction.”[/perfectpullquote]

Biggest takeaway from working at KA:

The construction industry is incredibly complex. There are countless moving parts. The people I worked with were always willing to help make sense of things and make learning a priority.

Highlight from the summer:

Attending the construction and owner meetings. Witnessing how my project manager varies how he communicates and interacts depending on the audience was extremely beneficial to me.

Biggest Challenges:

My lack of knowledge regarding construction means and methods. At times it was intimidating knowing that everyone else involved in the project knows more about construction than I do. My project manager and superintendent helped with this a lot by never assuming I knew anything.

Any advice to a new intern:

Don’t be afraid to ask your mentor to see something else besides the project you are assigned to. Everyone at KA was more than willing to let me experience whatever I was interested in, and my assigned tasks could wait. For example, help the estimator out for a couple days, visit a job site that is in a different phase than the one you are assigned to, sit in on anything that interests you or you haven’t seen before.

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Kate Stehr, Accounting Intern – Twin Cities

School attending and major:

Augsburg University, Accounting and Management Information Systems

Career Goals:

Become a CPA and work for a company that supports a work/life balance.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”Kate Stehr” link=”” color=”#CC0202″ class=”” size=”24″]”I’ve learned so much over the course of the summer, about myself, accounting, and construction.[/perfectpullquote]

Biggest takeaway from working at KA:

There is something to be said about a company that values its employees. Though my time at KA is temporary, I feel that the tasks I completed were important and useful to the company. KA welcomed me with open arms, and I was impressed by the community here. This is certainly something I’ll look for in a future employer.

Highlight from the summer:

Applying the things I learned in class to real life situations and getting out of the office a few afternoons to visit various jobsites.

Biggest Challenges:

Transitioning from classroom learning to real-world experience. Figuring out when to let myself struggle and work through a difficult task on my own and when to ask for help.

Any advice to a new intern:

The time will fly by, so soak up as much as you can while you have the chance.

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Esteban Perez – Project Engineer Intern, Minneapolis

School attending and major:

University of Wisconsin – Stout, Construction Management

Career Goals:

I want to continue learning every day in school until I graduate in December and through my career. This will prepare me for every situation as I move through being a PE/APM/PM. I would like to stay with the same company throughout most of my career, if not all of it.

Biggest takeaway from working at KA:

Communication skills. I became comfortable making phone calls, emailing, and talking to people on site, whether it is calling someone to ask them why they weren’t on site, or emailing every week on where their submittals are, or telling someone on site to put their hardhat and safety glasses on.

Highlight from the summer:

Intern tours and summit. I liked being able to see how other projects were going and what the other interns were doing. I also liked having time with the other interns and some of the HR team to socialize and talk about other things, not just work.

 

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”Esteban Perez” link=”” color=”#CC0202″ class=”” size=”24″]”Everyone I’ve met at KA is great, whether it was meeting my team for the summer or someone I met on the elevator, everyone was nice and welcoming.”[/perfectpullquote]

Biggest Challenges:

One of my biggest challenges was communication. I’m a quiet person, but I pushed myself to learn how to communicate effectively. Another challenge was my limited experience with construction. I’ve done drywall for the past two summers so I knew only a few things about other trades or project management.

Any advice to a new intern:

Don’t be afraid of anything, especially asking questions. If you feel nervous about doing something, ask your mentor or someone on your team about it. Ask as many questions as you can, even if it is something you think you should know, just ask. When you make a mistake, ask for help on correcting it right away, don’t try to avoid it or hide it. Everyone makes mistakes; your team knows this, they will understand.

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Jesse Sherman – Project Engineer Intern, Minneapolis

School attending and major:

Dunwoody School of Technology, Construction Management

Career Goals:

Grow within a company, starting out as a project engineer and working up to a project manager.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”Jesse Sherman” link=”” color=”#CC0202″ class=”” size=”24″]”I never said, ‘I can’t do that,” and found that by saying yes to things, I set myself up to take away a lot of useful learning experiences.”[/perfectpullquote]

Biggest takeaway from working at KA:

The amount of individuals willing to help out at any given moment speaks volumes to what KA is all about. The team dynamic is incorporated into every phase of construction and is an attribute I have admired thus far.

Highlight from the summer:

Watching the projects I have been involved with come to phase one completion.

Biggest Challenges:

Learning the dynamics of the business side of construction.  Reading about it and learning is great, but there is no substitute for hands-on experience.

Any advice to a new intern:

Make use of your time.  Identify areas that you want to get exposure to, and be willing to take risks.  Take part in all that KA has to offer like softball, group outings, and so on. It is all great networking opportunities and a chance to get to know people that you don’t typically see or interact with.

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Dominic Mapes – Project Engineer Intern, Bemidji

School attending and major:

North Dakota State University, Construction Management

Career Goals:

Graduate in December 2019 with a fulltime job lined up. Learn as much as possible on both the field and office side, and possibly focus on preconstruction.

Biggest takeaway from working at KA:

Learning everything that goes into the preconstruction process, and how to take care of clients and subcontractors.

Highlight from the summer:

Seeing a project go from design documents and budget estimates through bidding and finally to a GMP proposal. Seeing the amount of work that goes in preconstruction and the mindset that KA has to go the extra mile for clients in order to give them the best experience possible.

Biggest Challenges:

Working with suppliers to maintain a schedule.

Any advice to a new intern:

Ask questions and learn about as many areas of construction management as possible. Everyone is very willing to help out and show you how to do something or explain something in more detail.