TKDA Intern: Saylor Allen
My name is Saylor Allen and I am a technician here in the architecture division in Saint Paul here at TKDA. I think one of my favorite parts has definitely been getting the chance to meet other interns; that’s really enjoyable for me. And also getting to use the skills that I’ve learned in school, but in a different capacity. School is more abstract or maybe more theory, some may say especially in architecture. But getting your hands on projects that are being built currently or are under the construction phases, so you can see a physical outcome from your hard work. It’s really quite rewarding, so that’s one of my favorite parts, too. Previously, I was thinking maybe more residential, but now after seeing the private or industrial realms, I’m more interested in that. My intentions are still to go to grad school and eventually become a licensed architect. You never really know what a job will be until you show up the first day. So, don’t sell yourself short.
TKDA Intern: Brooklyn Mishler
My name is Brooklyn Mishler and I work in Human Resources. Being a college student during a pandemic, I think that my favorite part of this internship has been working in the office and getting to collaborate in person with my coworkers. I think what’s really important to look for when you’re applying for an internship is the company culture. TKDA schedules a lot of social events for the interns and I think that’s a great way to help get college students accustomed to work-life balance. This company is really good at making sure everybody’s involved and there’s a lot of different committees to exercise that as well. Although I’m a business major, I learned a lot about architecture and engineering throughout this summer and that helped me learn a lot and it was exciting for me. Internships altogether area really good way to learn a lot more about yourself, the industry that you’re looking to go into, your major and the company that you’re working for. So, overall, TKDA has done a great job of giving me knowledge in all of those areas. And I’m really grateful that I chose TKDA for my internship. I absolutely will consider applying to TKDA after my internship.
TKDA Intern: Rachel Becker
My name is Rachel Becker and I’m in the Facilities Division in the Structural group. It seems like every other day, I’m doing a different project here, which has been a really cool experience. So while I could be working on a building one day, I’m also like doing pipe supports or something else the next day, which has been pretty cool. I think the way that they have, like the interns set up on our floor is pretty cool because we’re all sitting next to each other. So I’ve gotten to know them pretty well. I wanted to find a company where I could like, really get to know everybody super well and especially like the other interns. Just because we’re all sort of like, going through the same thing. So just having sort of like, an after work event where we could all just like, socialize and like, get to know each other has been pretty fun. So, I got a housing stipend with my, like, offer letter. And I actually got a few recommendations from one of the people in HR as well. So, I checked them out and I’m actually staying, like, two blocks from the office. And so it’s been really nice to walk to work every day. Step outside of your comfort zone. I mean, I’m originally from Indiana and now all the way up here in Minnesota. So, it’s been definitely like a big step but it’s been pretty fun.
TKDA Intern: Zane Zbacnik
My name is Zane Zbacnik. I’m in the municipal division, so I pretty much get out there once the contractor start working and I start inspecting. So, I’m watching them pour the concrete and then they do tests to make sure it’s up to code, especially on state jobs and federal-aided jobs. I use my knowledge as best as I can to work with them and people on their jobs too. Their foremans know a lot, so it’s kind of learning with them too. My favorite part about the internship so far is being out in the field and working with contractors and people who just graduated and people who have been working for TKDA for a long time. So, you get a wide range of experience. Just being there, all over different places, either in the office or at different sites, so it’s nice to connect with them and really just connect on social media, especially. what excites me is the amount of change that’s going through right now, just with all the new technology and all the new advancements and everything that’s going on.
TKDA Intern: Priya Patel
My name is Priya Patel, and I’m the intern in the Aviation Division, here at TKDA. I help on projects in any way I can. I do a lot working with CAD, and, updating exhibits and drawings for various projects. I’m using all the software I expected to use, but I’m also getting more experience than I was expecting, and I’ve also gone into the field. I’ve been doing a lot of projects involving MSP, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport. I’ve been on-site at MSP a couple of times, out on the tarmac. It was really cool to be able to go up close to the planes and,I was able to look at the passenger boarding bridges and exact pieces of equipment that I was working with and working on. And, it kind of all comes together when I actually see it out there, which is really interesting and really cool. Advice for future interns; don’t be afraid of jumping into a completely different area in your field. I never thought aviation would be something for me, and now that I’m here, I’m absolutely in love with it.
TKDA Intern: Juliana Ghani
Hi, my name is Juliana Ghani and I am the marketing and business development intern here at TKDA. I chose TKDA because right away, they promised that I would have creative freedom and I would get my own projects and they’ve given me a lot of responsibility and that’s something that I appreciate at a college level. Being in a real work environment and working with real professionals has taught me new skills and tricks, especially within the Adobe Suite. Today, I’m working on career fair banners and I’ve been playing with a couple different designs and slogans to see kinda what works best within our brand and what college students would gravitate more towards. Then, trying to pull it together with a slogan. Right now, we have, “Discover the possibilities,” because there’s so many possibilities within TKDA and yet we’re also choosing between, “Create your Future,” because at TKDA, you can create a lot and this is kinda where your future can start. I’ve been working on this for about a week and I’m excited to get it done and see how it turns out. I came into this position thinking that I would have a set list of projects and that I would just do those and then, that’s it. But I’ve had a wide exposure to different projects and I’ve definitely built strong connections.
TKDA Intern: Kelsey Franz
I’m Kelsey Franz, I’m majoring in Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering but I have an emphasis in Environmental and Ecological Engineering. I actually connected online, I just did a random Google search for Environmental Engineering internships and luckily enough, TKDA came up. They weren’t just asking me how I could help the company, they were asking me what other things that they could do to make sure that the internship was geared towards my specialties. That’s really important thing about internships is with school, you learn all this background information but you don’t have any actual real world experience with it so it’s important to cross those boundaries and they’ve definitely done a good job of making sure that I have those opportunities to do that. I’m here today to watch a crew work on the lift station three repair. Writing down everything, keeping track of quantities, what equipment they’re using, asking them just what’s going on now so that I have a full understanding of what’s going on, what the next steps and what tomorrow looks like. And how the project is progressing. I already have talked to all my classmates and friends about how great this internship is and how I’m having such a good time with it. I think they’ll definitely consider applying here next year.