Wallace Design Collective

At Wallace Design Collective, we’re not just designing projects – we’re shaping the future of engineering and landscape architecture. Our High School Internship Program is dedicated to inspiring and cultivating the next generation of professionals. Through this program, high school students step beyond the classroom to gain hands-on experience in civil engineering, structural engineering, and landscape architecture, immersing themselves in projects that mirror the work of full-time professionals. Our program teaches technical skills and encourages interns to explore diverse career paths within the industry. Each intern is paired with a dedicated mentor for personalized guidance. Coordinated by Heidi Wallace, a civil engineer and associate at Wallace with a passion for education, the mentorship fosters confidence and curiosity, empowering students to explore their interests and build a solid foundation for their future.

Why We Started This Program
The vision behind this program is simple yet powerful: the future of engineering and landscape architecture depends on those who will come after us. Our industry’s growth hinges on nurturing talent early. With a growing demand for qualified professionals, we saw an opportunity to engage students at a pivotal moment: before they choose their college or career direction. Our goal is to ignite a passion for STEM and design while showcasing the immense possibilities within engineering and landscape architecture. By introducing high schoolers to these fields, we’re not only inspiring them but also giving them a competitive edge with practical experience that sets them apart.

Program Goals: More Than Just an Internship
The Wallace High School Internship Program has several key objectives:

• Inspiration: Ignite a passion for engineering and design by showing students how their education can make an impact in the professional world.
• Career Pipeline: Cultivate future professionals in STEM fields, helping to meet the needs of an ever-evolving industry.
• College Preparation: Help students gain valuable experience that can be included in college applications and career essays.
• Industry Awareness: Promote awareness of the industry, showing how civil engineering, structural engineering, and landscape professionals play critical roles in shaping the world around us.

What Interns Can Expect
Our program is designed with flexibility, offering both long-term and short-term internships that fit students’ schedules. Long-term internships are ideal for students who have completed Algebra II and span a semester or full academic year. These internships immerse students in the day-to-day workings of our civil, structural, landscape architecture, and land planning departments, where they learn to interpret zoning codes and landscape guidelines, work hands-on with engineering software, and attend site visits and client meetings.

Short-term internships offer a condensed yet impactful version of the same experience. Whether students can commit to a single day or a few weeks, they’ll walk away with meaningful exposure to our professional environment.

Real-World Exposure
Our internships aren’t about observing – they’re about doing. The program is designed to give students a comprehensive look at what it’s like to work in our industry. They gain hands-on experience and actively participate in:

• Comprehensive Learning: Office tours and shadow days across departments, introducing interns to each discipline’s role in the project lifecycle.
• Construction Document Exploration: Reviewing construction documents from multiple perspectives to understand how projects progress from concept to completion.
• Software Training: Learning foundational skills in Autodesk  and Revit drafting software for creating construction documents through training videos and personalized instruction.
• Code Familiarization: Gaining a foundational understanding of essential codes, including required zoning code, landscape code, and basic engineering codes.
• Practical Skills Development: Learn to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world challenges through hands-on projects. Develop skills in site planning, structural analysis, and system design.
• On-Site Experience: Attending site visits and client meetings (depending on internship length and timing), where they see the impact of our work firsthand.
• Project Work: Drawing from what they learned from each discipline, students choose a property and draft a building and site layout that meets zoning code requirements.

Beyond Internships: STEM Outreach
Our impact doesn’t end with internships. Wallace Design Collective is dedicated to promoting STEM through school events, classroom speaking engagements and more. By engaging students from PK-12, we help them understand the real-world impact of careers in STEM fields. We believe that introducing students to these concepts early helps them become informed citizens – after all, these future leaders will one day shape the infrastructure, policies, and environments we all rely on.

A Win for Everyone
Our goal is not only to train future engineers and landscape architects but to help students explore what working in a professional environment feels like – regardless of whether they pursue a career in our field. One previous intern realized that while architectural engineering wasn’t their calling, they appreciated the work environment at Wallace and now know the type of professional setting they thrive in. That’s a win in our eyes.

Partner Schools and Growing Opportunities
Our Tulsa office currently leads the way in offering the Wallace High School Internship Program, partnering with schools like Jenks, Union, Holland Hall, and Tulsa Honor Academy for long-term internships, as well as Bishop Kelly, Metro Christian, and Northeast Tech for short-term experiences. Looking ahead, we’re excited to expand this program to all seven of our office locations nationwide, creating partnerships with even more schools and offering these transformative experiences across the country.

If you’re an educator, school administrator, or student interested in our high school internship program, reach out to Heidi Wallace today. Together, we can inspire the next generation of engineers, architects, and industry leaders!

Heidi Wallace, PE
918.806.7308
heidi.wallace@wallace.design