As the summer comes to an end, so does our internship program. It’s time for the four interns that we welcomed over two months ago to leave us for their next adventures, equipped with all that they’ve learned here at IKM. While we’re sad to see them go, we couldn’t let them get away without asking how they feel they’ve grown and what they enjoyed most this summer from projects to office outings. It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later.
Samuel Capps: Architecture
“I learned a lot working on healthcare projects this summer. It was a great experience being part of a dedicated, helpful team. They taught me a lot about the many complex aspects of designing and constructing hospitals, and it’s good to know my work will contribute to improving people’s lives.
The IKM experience was rewarding. There were numerous events that were great for getting to know everyone in the office. I left feeling like a full member of the team. I’m grateful for the help and advice I received, which was never hard to find when needed. IKM cares a lot about people, and it shows in the architecture and in the day-to-day work environment.”
Natalie Hanna: Interior Design
“My favorite office memory is the morning we had Round Robin. During Round Robin, the office was divided into teams. We had to complete 3 challenges where we had to come up with as many ideas as we can for specific questions related to the work place here at IKM. The idea was to improve the office and receive feedback from the employees. It was really amazing to me how IKM could take a break from usual work routines and get everyone together to do something like this. It was fun and I felt like I got to get to know other people around the office.
We each had to take personality tests online during the days before and our teams were chosen based on our personality results. I got counselor as my result, so I was placed with counselors and supporters, which are a personality type similar to counselors. Learning my personality type taught me that I am consistent, thoughtful, and accommodating, and also, I value friendships. Working with other people who share these traits showed me the strengths we have as counselors and supporters because we were all able to get along so well and work together. We ended up winning Round Robin!
My favorite project I worked on would probably have to be One PNC Lobby. We got to start from scratch and dream big to create a design that would be functional and describe PNC while preserving the history behind the building.”
Greg Genter: Architecture
“Entering the summer of my final year as a student, I set a personal goal of experiencing as many aspects of the profession of architecture as possible and becoming comfortable collaborating in a large office setting. Of course, no one could possibly experience everything, but I am pleased, and even surprised by what I was able to take in.
As great as it was to stay in the cool, conditioned office during the summer days, my favorite part was getting to go out to the sites and experience some of the projects. It was great to be able to see the projects seen around the office come to form, to learn a little more about some of the difficulties encountered during construction, and how those problems were resolved. Being able to go into the field and witness physical construction is not something that I had been able to experience yet that I feel has added greatly to my understanding and consideration of how I design and how I envision a project being constructed.
My favorite project that I worked on this summer was the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. I really enjoyed and learned from the collaboration and honest communication that the team had with each other. The cooperation between team members made the work much easier and meetings were helpful to understand everyone’s role in the project, and who to go to when I had a question. It was a great experience to be part of a cohesive group and a strong work environment.”
Maddie Oppelt: Marketing
“While I’ve worked on many neat projects this summer, my favorite has definitely been updating the IKM website. We’ve focused mostly on redesigning the portfolio of projects listed on the site for the public to get a feel for IKM’s past work. I have really enjoyed collecting the details, images, and narrative for each project and organizing them on their individual pages to be pleasing to the eye and engaging for the viewer. It’s rewarding to see all the completed project pages and I’m excited for the new portfolio to go live! Before coming to IKM, I was intrigued by website design but had very little experience. Here, I’ve gotten to learn what the “back end” and “front end” of a site are and what it’s like for a company to work with an outside website designer.
I also had a lot of fun organizing and laying out an Ideas post (“Three Essential Comics for Architects,” written by Robyn Engel). I found suitable, appealing images and arranged the paragraphs in a logical way, and I’m proud of the end result. IKM is full of inspiring people and I’m so grateful I’ve been able to spend my summer learning from them!”
