Wallace Design Collective

Intern Spotlight 2023

In school you learn all about the mechanics of your job and how to perform your new job as an AEC professional. What school does not teach you about your new job is everything else. This is the crucial role of AEC internships. 

Today, we are spotlighting some of our 2023 summer interns. Read on to hear about their insights from this summer and the real-world projects they got to learn from and apply their skills to.

Civil Engineering Interns

Avery Acord

School: Oklahoma State University

Wallace Design Collective was pleased to welcome Avery to our Tulsa office this year. Avery came to Wallace at the suggestion of her OSU advisor. Avery grew up in Jenks and is familiar with Tulsa but not downtown as much. Avery really enjoyed going to lunch downtown, discovering shops, and going to downtown events.

What was your favorite project or experience this summer?

My favorite part of the summer was when I went on a site punchlist visit. I completed one for ORU, Osage Casino Bartlesville, and Metro Christian Academy. Osage Casino was my favorite because of the sheer size of the project. I also really liked working on the CREOKS project. I have been building that project from the ground up with just some help.

How did this internship compare to previous internships?

I feel that I have been given more autonomy and trust in terms of working on projects here. I also feel like I have been given more opportunities to learn. I also think [Wallace] prioritizing having interns on site visits is great for learning and training. 

Josh Morgan

School: Oklahoma State University

Josh was a first-time intern at Wallace and joined our Tulsa office.  One of Josh’s favorite things in Tulsa was rock climbing at Climb Tulsa, a local climbing gym, and participating in the Wallace Intramural volleyball games. 

Why did you come to Wallace?

I loved the diversity of Wallace’s projects. I also wanted to get to experience as many sides of civil engineering as possible and it seemed that Wallace could offer me that. 

How would you describe the culture here at Wallace?

I think the best way to describe it is employee driven. Truly it has been shown that when employees need time to do something within their personal lives, Wallace is able to cater and provide for them. I am also fascinated by the way Wallace provides for people to pursue their own interests within the company. One such example is Rhett starting at the company as an engineer; however, he was able to test and discover that he does best in IT where he has been able to pivot his career whereas in a different company, he would never have that opportunity. 

Perla Rosales Avelar

School: Oklahoma State University

Perla joined our Tulsa office and has lived in Tulsa most of her life. Perla enjoyed going to dumpling night at Foolish Things café on Wednesdays and rafting with friends this summer. Perla decided on Wallace this summer to gain insight into civil engineering as well as experience the culture of working at a professional services firm.

What was your favorite experience this summer?

My favorite experiences have been the site visits as well as learning more about the attention to detail and work that goes into projects.

What did you learn through your experience?

I learned that having questions and collaborating with peers is imperative to working on projects. Sometimes relying on what you know limits you, and asking questions expands said limits. Especially in new situations such as being an intern.

Steele Petty

School: Colorado School of Mines

Steele joined our Denver office this summer as our only Denver intern. He was looking for a better understanding of the consulting industry and to learn, and work with a friend from college. Steele’s favorite thing to do in Denver while not working was to play putt-putt on Cody Goebel’s 3D printed mini golf course.

Structural Engineering Interns

Allison Baker

School: Oklahoma State University

Allison has been a Wallace fan for several years since she toured here in high school. This summer she enjoyed exploring the food options around downtown with the other interns and going to some of the events that Wallace puts on.

What did you learn through your experience?

I learned quite a few things while I was here! The biggest thing that stuck out to me this summer is that there are infinite ways to approach a problem and reach a solution. Another good lesson I learned is that as an engineer, we need to be humble (willing to admit our mistakes and be open to different approaches).

How did this internship compare to previous internships?

This is my first internship! I cannot imagine that it gets any better than this. I will say that I loved the time I got to spend with the other interns and the site visits.

Miranda Krebbs

School: Oklahoma State University

Miranda came to Wallace on the recommendation of a friend who interned with us last year. One of Miranda’s favorite things about working in Kansas City was eating BBQ! 

How would you describe the culture here at Wallace? 

I am really impressed with the culture here. Everyone seems enthusiastic to help each other, while also fostering friendly interpersonal relationships. I was never afraid to ask anyone for help, or ask them how their day was going. 

What was one of the more important lessons you learned while at Wallace?

I learned that engineering is not as cut and dry as it is in school. A lot of things change during a project, and being flexible is incredibly important. The most important thing I learned is that you have to be capable of picking up a relevant resource, and be able to interpret it without someone holding your hand through it. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. But everyone needs a refresher, and I never realized how much we are all constantly learning. 

What was your favorite project or experience this summer?

I had to design the reinforcing for eight different pile cap variations for a warehouse in Tennessee. At first, it was incredibly frustrating and confusing since I had no experience in foundation design. I was given a design guide and some notes, and I was told to get after it. Although it had ups and downs, I am grateful for the experience that I gained from it. I am really proud that I was able to do it, and my mentors really taught me a lot during the process. 

Harvey Cooper

School: University of Oklahoma

Harvey joined us last year for a summer internship here in Tulsa in our Civil department. This summer Harvey joined our structural team in Oklahoma City.  Wallace places a big emphasis on getting interns out on site, and Harvey was excited to return for another summer of seeing 3D structures on computer screens come to life.

How would you describe the culture here at Wallace? 

The culture here at Wallace is incredibly welcoming and genuine. All of the people that I have interacted with over the last two summers have been easy to approach and happy to help. I have noticed that the company seems to be making a greater effort to unite the interns from other offices and have us get to know one another on a deeper level than just being the other intern. 

What did you learn through your experience? 

I mainly learned how an office operates while also learning that asking questions will get you answers to other questions that you haven’t even thought of.  The seemingly short time as a student is some of the most valuable part of your life, full of opportunities to continuously be learning what makes you truly happy and how you can turn your profession into happiness. This summer has been a chance for me to practice this “always be learning” attitude and expose myself to the other side of Wallace as a structural intern so I can do some internal discovery as to what I want to do after school. 

Peyton Holden

School: Missouri S&T

Peyton added his talents to our Kansas City office this summer because it offered great scope of work, workflow and culture. It didn’t hurt having his hometown close by to commute and save money either. This summer Peyton appreciated walking around downtown and eating at local places.

What was your favorite project or experience this summer?

I would say my favorite project to work on was a hotel located on the coast that needed to extend two elevator shafts above roof level and add a third elevator shaft. My mentor went on vacation on the week he gave it to me, so I got to spend a week grinding on a fuller design project. The challenge was really enjoyable and was a great learning experience.

What did you learn through your experience? 

I learned the importance of considering the ripple effects of changing a structural design on one portion of the building has on the rest. Especially in terms of visualizing whether a solution that works on paper is feasible/efficient during construction. I also learned the importance of keeping calculations of projects organized/clear enough that you can decipher them weeks down the road.

 

Our structural summer interns included, Mahaalakshmi Narayanan (Virginia Tech), Tyler Fico (West Point Academy), Brendan Jameson (Oklahoma State University), Allison Baker (Oklahoma State University), Grace Giesler (Missouri S&T), Jackson Shipley (Oklahoma State University), Zachary Dillinger (Kansas State University), Miranda Krebbs (Oklahoma State University), Harvey Cooper (University of Oklahoma), Peyton Holden (Missouri S&T), Amber Martin (Oklahoma State University), Olivia Arp (Oklahoma State University), and Seth Prizznick (Oklahoma State University).

Our civil summer interns included Avery Acord (Oklahoma State University), Josh Morgan (Oklahoma State University), Perla Rosales Avelar (Oklahoma State University), Chad Conner (Oklahoma State University), Steele Petty (Colorado School of Mines), Charles Polan (University of Oklahoma), and Josh Rau (Jenks High school).

Our landscape architecture intern was Murphy Beck (Oklahoma State University). Our surveying intern was Anna Kromhout ((Oklahoma State University). Kaitlyn Atwood joined us as an administrative intern. Erik Burciaga was added as a forensic intern to our forensic team this summer.

Wallace Design Collective values the insight and experience our interns bring to our team. We enjoy helping foster their knowledge of the technical aspects of our profession as well as guiding them through the experience of working in the AEC industry. Our internship curriculum focuses on providing a well-rounded experience of what our industry offers, from inspections and forensics, to site visits and technical design.

It’s never too early to start thinking about internship opportunities! Are you a student interested in getting real world experience in civil engineering, structural engineering, landscape architecture, land surveying or roof consulting? Reach out for more information!