What is your typical day like?

For my internship, I worked with James Cowan, a project manager, and Jeff Henderson on the East Tech Culinary Program Renovation. They have both been wonderful, teaching me as we go, and to collaborate with on this project. We are in design development and when construction starts, I hope to come back to see more of that process.

Typically, each morning, I reorient myself on tasks for the day and begin working in Revit. The morning is when I can complete assignments from the previous days discussions. This could be adjusting classroom and furniture layouts, or producing new renderings. I do a lot of renderings! Then in the afternoon, we meet together and work through any changes we received from the client. Since this project is built in Revit, I update the model, produce new floor plans and send them to the client for any changes. The next day it begins all over again!

How was the internship different than you expected?

This is my first professional internship with an architecture firm. I had some experience as a senior in high school, but it was from the client’s perspective and the work was largely limited to my high school. At TDA, I am working directly on an architectural model.

I came to this internship expecting to do background work and maybe sit in a few meetings. I thought the project manager or principal architect would primarily work with the client. It was a huge surprise when I was given an important role. During my time, I attended a lot of meetings, corresponded with our clients, and they knew me by name. I was so excited when I got my first phone call!

What was memorable about your time at TDA?

I just really loved the environment and culture at TDA. The people are super genuine to one another. All the interns were great too. I loved working with them, and hanging out after work with them. It was a unique environment and culture compared to the other firms that I’ve shadowed.

The new office is especially exciting, it is such an open space. I was sitting at one of the collaborative tables, which was a little nerve wracking at first, but it was also nice to see everyone working. I think it encouraged in-person collaboration and made communication much easier. It was really exciting.

What lessons did you learn in this internship?

A value that all architects should have, and TDA does really well, is to communicate and collaborate with everyone in the project. There’s a lot of people involved whether it’s a client, construction manager, consultant or architect. Everyone needs to be satisfied when the project is finished because it’s something that will last for years to come. Each building is a product of many people’s input.

Also, education is always changing and flexibility needs to be a priority in new schools. I think since TDA specializes in education and really focuses on their clients, they have been very successful in their projects. That communication and attention is something I want to carry forward in my career.