Wallace Design Collective

Almost any professional will tell you that school can only teach you so much - nothing can replace real world experience! Wallace Design Collective understands that hands-on internships are key to helping future AEC professionals get the practical skills and experience they need to excel. This summer, we were thrilled to share our knowledge with seven students. 

Today, we shine the spotlight on our 2021 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

Mitchell Mueller

School: Missouri University of Science and Technology

Hometown: Aurora, IL

Degree: B.S. Civil Engineering

Class of 2022

Wallace Design Collective eagerly welcomed back Mitchell for a second summer internship. This year, Mitchell put the Civil 3D software skills he honed last summer into action on a real-world project, where he gained a better understanding of the technical and managerial aspects of civil engineering. Outside the office, Mitchell enjoyed playing sand volleyball with the Wallace team and working out with the Tulsa Athletic soccer club. 

What was your favorite project or experience this summer?

My favorite project was Blockhead (an 11-acre industrial park)...I pretty much did all of the construction plans for the project and some of the utility designs so I was heavily involved in it. Since I was in charge of the plans, I had to make sure we met all the deadlines for sending them out, as well coordinated with the architects and MEP to make sure everything matched...I got to go to the page turns for the project, where the owners, architects, contractors, etc. would go through all the plans and mark them up as well as discuss certain items. This was helpful to hear how plans are actually interpreted and hear firsthand what the owners really want on their site as well as their thought process for certain aspects of the project.

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

The most important thing I learned is to always ask questions. Last summer during COVID there weren't many people in the office to ask, but now that everyone is here there is always someone that can help you.

Mary Ziegler

School: Oklahoma State University

Hometown: Tulsa, OK

Degree: B.S. Civil Engineering

Class of 2022

The civil engineering group at Wallace Design Collective was also excited to have Mary return for a second straight year. This summer, Mary got some hands-on experience in site design - an aspect of civil engineering she doesn’t feel gets much attention in school, but one that she believes presents unique challenges. When she wasn’t exercising her engineering skills, Mary enjoyed exploring the mountain bike trails in Northeast Oklahoma.  

What was your favorite project or experience this summer?

Stonecloud Taproom in Stillwater, OK - I did all of the design for the taproom. This was one of my first ''real projects'' to do on my own, so I did everything from setting up sheets to grading the site. I really enjoyed seeing how the site evolved from a land survey into a final set of civil drawings. Also, I have learned more about the process because it was up to me to walk all the pieces and figuring out how to make them all work together. 

How would you describe the culture here at Wallace? What is one of your favorite things about it?

The culture at Wallace is laid back and a place that is simply enjoyable to work every day. I love that everyone is committed to engineering and providing the best possible service while having a good time doing so.

Structural Engineering Interns

Charlie Guyer

School: Oklahoma State University

Hometown: Bixby, OK

Degree: Bachelor of Architectural Engineering

Class of 2022

This was Charlie’s first structural engineering internship, and it affirmed to her that she is definitely in the right field! After experiencing internships with architects and owner’s reps, she was thrilled to get to see the design and construction phases from an engineer’s point of view. Now, she can’t wait to start full time and begin working towards her professional engineering license. Her (second!) favorite part of working in Tulsa was visiting the food trucks every Wednesday at Guthrie Green. 

What was your favorite project or experience this summer?

My favorite project has been the FEMA storm shelter that is a part of the Riverfield Center for Creativity. Helping my team run the design calcs really helped me to solidify my understanding of masonry, and I learned plenty about storm shelter requirements.

How would you describe the culture here at Wallace? What is one of your favorite things about it? 

From what I’ve experienced, the Wallace culture is very genuine and supportive. I like being a part of the collaboration between teams, and everyone I’ve worked with has been eager to teach me as much as they can about a project, or Wallace, or construction, etc.

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

The lesson I’ve learned would be: don’t be afraid to ask questions, and then MORE questions.

Jacob Starks

School: University of Oklahoma

Hometown: Dunwoody, GA

Degree: B.S. Civil Engineering

Class of 2022

As a first time structural engineering intern, Jacob saw a little bit of everything, from geotechnical reports and shop drawings to masonry design and existing structure evaluation. During his free time in Tulsa this summer, Jacob enjoyed attending Tulsa FC soccer games. 

What was your favorite project or experience this summer?

Evaluating the load capacity of an existing mezzanine at the NXTNano Warehouse in Claremore, OK based on measurements [a co-worker] had taken during site investigations. The overall project was some remodel work, but with it, they wanted to evaluate the capacity of the mezzanine and some equipment that they didn’t have documentation for.

Through the process, I was taught things that I didn't know, like weld capacity calcs, and I got exposed to software, like RISA Connection, for analysis, but for the most part it has been self directed, and I've had to think through how to apply what I've learned in my classes to analyze the potential failures along the load path.

What did you learn through your internship experience?

This internship gave me a lot of insight into the kind of working relationships engineers have in the industry; probably the most surprising things were all of the code checks and negotiation working between client and municipality interests.

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

People aren’t going to teach you just because; you need to seek out the knowledge and people who can help you learn and succeed.

Landscape Architecture Intern

Daisy Shadley

School: Oklahoma State University

Hometown: Tulsa, OK

Degree: Bachelor of Landscape Architecture

Class of 2024

Wallace Design Collective’s brand new landscape architecture department welcomed Daisy as their first intern this summer. This was also Daisy’s first internship and first time officially working with landscape architects. She found her internship experience to be refreshingly different from the typical school structure. Daisy especially enjoyed the perk of having the evenings off after work to spend time with family and friends. 

What was your favorite project or experience this summer?

I really enjoyed making a presentation on sustainability and “Designing for Ecology” for Saint Francis. But everything I have done here was fun in its own way. 

What did you learn through your internship experience?

So much...so many little tricks in CAD, Photoshop, and Sketchup that they just never went over in school, but are going to be super helpful for the rest of my time in college. As well as a lot of information about what it is like to be in the workforce. I got to see the kinds of projects they work on, how communication between us and the clients goes, and what kinds of difficulties we have to work with when we get files and such from other companies that don’t line up with the way we do things.

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

Keep things organized. I wouldn’t say that I was “unorganized” before I came here, but the organization here is on a whole other level. What with the crazy number of projects that they are working on all the time, and the ones that have already been completed but need to be looked at still, everything has to be kept clear and easy to find.

 

Rounding out our group of interns, Emily Long (B.S. Civil Engineering - Oklahoma State University) helped out our civil department, and Patrick Culp (B.S. Mechanical Engineering - University of Tulsa and M.S. Civil (Structural) Engineering - University of Texas at Austin) got some experience with our structural division. 

Wallace Design Collective values our interns’ services and skills, and we enjoy helping them take their knowledge to the next level. By exposing interns to a variety of project-specific tasks and hopefully a few site visits, we show students how their courses apply to real world design and then how designs come to life in the field. 

“This is definitely a great learning environment,” said Guyer. “I feel like I am getting practical experience, and I am surrounded by people that want to help me learn as much as possible.”

 

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 (morgan.lewandowski@wallace.design) for more information!

 

Pictured Above

Top row, left to right: Charlie Guyer, Daisy Shadley, Mitchell Mueller

Bottom row, left to right: Mary Ziegler, Jacob Starks, Emily Long, Patrick Culp