Who are you interning under, what is your role?
I’m interning under Rick Brattland. More day-to-day I am working with different project managers, like Alexa Waterman and Jennifer Hartford. My position is construction project manager intern. In my role I assist other project managers with scheduling, contact vendors, and manufacturers to get order placements, go on site visits to take measurements or make sure things are catalogued correctly, attend meetings with clients, and make sure that we are doing what needs to be done.
How did you hear about Element?
I heard about Element online. I was looking for like positions on Handshake, and I saw The Element Group. I searched it up and it looked like a great organization.
Have you interned with us before, if not, have you interned elsewhere?
No, this is my first internship.
Where do you go to school? What year are you and what do you study? Any courses that prepared you for this internship?
I am a rising third-year student at Syracuse University majoring in architecture. 
I took construction management classes at ESF, the neighboring college to Syracuse. Construction project management is about being able to read construction documents and finding the information you need. In these classes I had to sort through 300-page construction documents to find the information, and that was completely different to me. It helped prepare me for this internship.
What drew you to your field?
That’s hard to answer because building and architecture have always been interests of mine, ever since I was young. I played with Legos, but after it was built, I was like, “Okay, what do I do, just put this on my shelf?” For me, the most fun was the building process, plus I just like creating things. Architecture is very difficult because it’s never good enough. There always something you can build upon to improve it, and that intrigues me.
What are some goals that you wish to accomplish through this internship? Is there something that you are most excited to be working on/currently working on?
I want to make connections and meet people. And I want to learn the industry because going into construction architecture, it’s such a broad field. Once I graduate, I want to know where I want to go: Do I want to go join a general contractor? Or do I want to come back here and work for a turnkey company? It’s great to get involved in an internship because you can answer those questions. You find out where you want to go because you can see what’s happening.
When you come in as an intern, the company doesn’t revolve around you. You come in and projects are already going, and you get kind of thrown into it all. But one thing I am excited about is this project that we just started on a credit union in Maine. And I’ve been there from step one. I was there on the kickoff meeting with the client, and I was there when we looked over the schematic design plan. I’m really excited about seeing that project develop.
now for some Fun Questions!
Any pets?
I have two dogs, Leia and Skylax. Skylax is the older one, he’s about 12 years old, and then Leia is about three years old. They’re great dogs, I love them. Rhodesian Ridgebacks. That’s the one problem with this internship. I had to move to New Hampshire, so I don’t get to see my dogs!
Do you play a sport?
I used to do cross-country in high school, but I didn’t carry that over in college.
Coffee, Tea, Other?
I don’t really drink either, but if I had to choose, I’d say coffee. I drink it because it feels like a custom. When you’re waiting at the car dealership, they have a coffee machine and it’s like, “You know what? I’m sitting here I have an hour. I might as well just make coffee because it’s something to drink, right?”
“Weirdest” hobby?
I have this hobby with my younger brother. We make little soldiers with Sculpey clay and then we’ll do battle. It’s kind of like a game of chess. We set up our armies and it’s a fun competition. My brother makes them much faster than me, he churns them out like an assembly line, but I take my time with them.
Recently read, listened to, or watched etc.? What stood out?
The most recent movie I watched is The Revenant. I watched it in theaters, and I watched it more recently. It takes place in the wilderness and it’s really all about perseverance.
I’m also reading this book called The Turning Point. It’s about how small events can make a big impact. It quasi-philosophical in a way. It’s interesting and it picks your brain.
Give me one additional fun fact about you!
I always struggle figuring out what to put on in the morning. Some people focus on their clothes, but the harder I think about it the worse it turns out. So I always default to the simplest thing. For this internship I said, “you know what, button down shirts, that’ll be the way to go!”
