As my first official internship within an architectural firm, I was dreading what I might be asked to do this summer. In school, we hear horror stories of being the “intern” at an architectural firm having to get coffee and work on bathroom layouts without receiving any respect as a human. Walking in on my first day to Pickering Associates, I could immediately tell this would not be the case. Traci, one of the head architects at the company, welcomed me in, helped make sure I was well acquainted and had a chance to meet everyone on the team. Everyone else was just as welcoming and excited to have me join him or her in projects for the summer.
Straightaway the idea of being the lowly intern evaporated as I was given tasks anyone else in the department would have been expected to do. They had me dive right into their current projects, helping come up with floor plans, designs, and going through drawing sets to understand how they worked together with the engineers of the company. I was amazed at how close-knit everyone was between departments, and how each of them took the time to know me not just by name but also as a person.
It was a great opportunity for me to work on my personal design skills in the real world as well as explore the details of how a building comes together. If I wanted to know more about something, I had no fear of reaching out to anyone in the architecture department for help. They were always willing to drop what they were working on to explain parts of a project to me; something I never expected to receive. This summer gave me a new idea of how wonderful it can be to work with a company, and prepared me for what opportunities lay ahead.
The variety of projects Pickering Associates works on shows their diversity and involvement in the local community. I was proud to be part of a company that cares so much about their employees as well as the community in which they are working. It was sad to leave such a loving group of people who have great values both with their jobs as well as with their lives outside work. I am happy to know the Pickering family is in my hometown and look forward to seeing them when I have the chance to return to the area.
~Christopher Mancuso