There are many paths to a career in construction. One of the benefits of the W. M. Jordan Intern Program is exposure to a wide variety of jobs and careers available to construction professionals. In many instances, interns that spend more than one summer with us will have the opportunity to learn more than one role. This Summer, Mason McKeithan is taking advantage of that opportunity.
Last year, Mason spent the summer working in the field at our Trinity Landing Senior Living Facility jobsite. There he worked with our Superintendents, learning what goes into running a job site safely and efficiently. This year, Mason has taken on more of a Project Engineer role, spending most of this time in the office and working on completely different projects.
“Compared to last year, this is a whole different workload and experience,” said Mason. “This Summer I have rarely been out on a jobsite or in the trailer. I work a lot with our Project Managers Justin Whitley and Greg Fritz, they have been really helpful in showing me the operations side of construction management.”
Mason has been a helpful addition to our Wilmington Office and has gotten to work with many of our trade partners.
“I’ve learned a whole new set of skills this summer. I get to interact with our trade partners and have learned a lot from working with them on their submittals (plans and specifications a trade partner must submit prior to work to ensure it complies with project specifications),” said Mason. I get to make sure our trade partners are doing what they are supposed to do. It has helped me learn a lot of the back-end work that goes into getting a building put together.”
Mason has enjoyed both of his experiences while interning for WMJ. He credits his time last summer with helping him understand what is going on this summer.
“I enjoyed working in the field last year, but I really wanted to see the operations side of the business. I’ve learned there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make the work that I was doing last summer possible.”
This summer, Mason has met more people in the construction industry and has been able to grow his network of professional connections.
“I think my favorite part of my job this summer has been being able to participate in our OAC (Owner-Architect-Contractor) Meetings. You get to learn a lot more about the job you are working on, and the impact it will have on the client. I’ve met some great people and get a much deeper dive into the project, so I know what is going on.”
We look forward to seeing Mason’s continued growth throughout the rest of this summer!
