Wallace Design Collective

Lessons from our 2025 summer program

This summer, we welcomed 20 talented interns from six universities to our offices. When we asked them to reflect on their experience, something interesting happened: they didn’t lead with the technical skills they’d gained or the projects they’d worked on. They talked about culture first.

Their responses revealed insights about what the next generation of engineers actually value – and highlighted some assumptions we didn’t even realize we were making about workplace norms.

Flexibility Isn’t Just a Perk – It’s Trust

Kaitlyn Dunahee from Missouri S&T was genuinely surprised by the flexibility she found at our Kansas City office. When describing the culture, she noted the company’s approach as “fun, creative, supportive, adaptive, flexible and understanding,” specifically highlighting the trust placed in employees to manage their own schedules and time off needs.

Elijah Sinclair in Oklahoma City saw the deeper impact: “Employees being able to adjust their working hours with their principals based on their personal needs leads to employees wanting to give more back to the company in a reciprocal way.”

What struck us was their surprise – flexibility that feels normal at Wallace stood out as noteworthy to them. It reminded us that what we see as standard practice isn’t always the industry norm.

The Office Isolation Myth

Civil engineering intern Brianna Butler arrived at our Tulsa office with clear expectations about engineering work environments: “I was convinced that I was going to be stuck in an office talking to almost no one, but Wallace has shown the complete opposite. I was surprised to observe how vibrant and lively the office was, and it was a treat to listen to the mixed buzz of work and home life.”

Her surprise was telling. If talented students are entering our field expecting isolation and minimal interaction, we’re clearly not communicating what modern engineering workplaces can actually be like.

Make Room for Not Knowing

One of the most revealing comments came from structural engineering intern Della Wehrenberg: “Everyone on my team was very helpful and made me feel comfortable in asking questions and making assumptions, even when my questions were common sense and my assumptions were straight up wrong. They helped me realize that as a student with no construction knowledge outside of my schooling, the only way that I can learn and prepare for the professional world is by asking questions.”

The fact that Della had to “realize” this suggests many workplaces still make people feel uncomfortable about not knowing things. Her growth throughout the summer – from hesitant questioner to confidently setting up RAM models – showed what’s possible when learning is truly encouraged.

Real Work From Day One

What impressed us most was how naturally our interns took on substantial responsibilities. Kaitlyn Dunahee described her favorite project: “My favorite project was one I was given on Friday of my first week interning here. I got to work on my own part of the project for the majority of the next 3 weeks, with some training, but mostly it was just me powering through it. I liked how sometimes I would make a mistake and have to go through 20 sheets to fix it everywhere, but that was part of the learning process.”

Her comfort with making mistakes – and seeing them as learning – suggested she felt safe to take risks. Della Wehrenberg experienced similar growth, eventually working on rebar shops for a hospital parking garage: “It sounds boring but later in the summer after weeks and weeks of staring at plans and details and marking them up, I got to go to the site and see it being built and foundations being poured, which was super cool to see.”

Christine Jean-Baptist found herself fully involved in wood design: “My favorite project was The Eddie because I got to really help out with the wood design process for the headers, jambs and stairs. I didn’t know much about wood when I first started, so it was a bit challenging. However, it was also really fun and the first part of a project I got to see all the way through.”

Structural engineering intern Allie Zottarella appreciated being included in the full scope of work: “I also got to attend meetings here, which I haven’t gotten to do before. It’s interesting to see that side of the job as well, whether it be staffing meetings or client meetings.”

Even landscape architecture intern Chloe Tyler, working on Saint Francis Hospital Muskogee renderings, gained the perspective that “new skills take time and practice to develop.”

The Leadership Communication Gap

Elijah Sinclair noticed something that many organizations struggle with: “I really like the transparency of the company leadership in where they are taking the company in the future, and how well they communicate with employees. I hope it keeps employees engaged and promotes the ‘buy-in’ mentality I think it fosters.”

His appreciation for transparency reinforces how highly clear leadership communication is valued. Such communication has become a focus at Wallace and it appears to be working.

What This Means Going Forward

As Christine Jean-Baptist put it, watching her colleagues work made her realize that engineering challenges are solved “through grit, intelligence and a willingness to ask their peers for help,” and it made her “want to be just like them.”

These interns entered our field with certain expectations – some accurate, some not. They leave with a clearer picture of what engineering work can be like when the environment supports learning, questions and real contribution from day one.

For Brianna Butler, the experience was clear: “In this internship, it was apparent that Wallace invests in their interns, and I am grateful to be part of it.”
As we look toward our 2026 internship program, we’re reminded that making lives better goes beyond the impact of our projects. It also means creating environments where people feel trusted, supported and inspired to contribute from day one.

Our interns showed us that flexibility, collaboration and transparency are more than workplace perks – they’re the foundation of careers worth building. At Wallace, we’re committed to carrying these lessons forward and continuing to shape a culture where the next generation of engineers can thrive.

Meet Our 2025 Summer Interns:

Structural Engineering:

•    Della Wehrenberg, Oklahoma State University – Atlanta office
•    Andrew Brandenburg, Oklahoma State University – Northwest Arkansas office
•    Christine Jean-Baptiste, University of Oklahoma – Oklahoma City office
•    Isela Ruiz-Reyes, University of Oklahoma – Oklahoma City office
•    Elyssa Gowriluk, Oklahoma State University – Tulsa office
•    Kaleb Weatherford, Oklahoma State University – Tulsa office
•    Kira Heidebrecht, University of Oklahoma – Denver office
•    Troy Propst, Missouri S&T – Kansas City office
•    Brendan Jameson, Oklahoma State University – Tulsa office
•    Allie Zottarella, Oklahoma State University – Tulsa office

Civil Engineering:

•    Perla Rosales-Avelar, Oklahoma State University – Tulsa office
•    Cooper Cook, University of Arkansas – Tulsa office
•    Josh Kern, Purdue University – Tulsa office
•    Kaitlyn Dunahee, Missouri S&T – Kansas City office
•    Elijah Sinclair, University of Oklahoma – Oklahoma City office
•    Idalia Andablo, Oklahoma State University – Tulsa office
•    Sophia Bertelli, Oklahoma State University – Tulsa office
•    Brianna Butler, Oklahoma State University – Tulsa office
•    Gabe Contreras, University of Colorado Boulder – Denver office

Landscape Architecture:

•    Chloe Tyler, Oklahoma State University – Tulsa office

Interested in real-world experience in civil engineering, structural engineering, landscape architecture, land planning, surveying or roof consulting? Learn more about our internship opportunities and what current students are looking for in their career development.