Holly White is a senior majoring in Construction Engineering and Management at Virginia Tech. Holly spent her summer working with CBG Building Company whose headquarters are located just outside of Washington, D.C. but has multiple locations throughout the United States.
CBG Building Company has built over 80,000 housing units since 1992. Their portfolio includes a variety of projects in diverse geographic areas. Some of these projects include luxury, mixed-use and affordable housing apartments. Additionally, they construct campus housing, military family communities and senior living facilities.
Q: What are some of the interesting things you were able to see/do while on the job?
White: Luckily, I got to see a lot this summer since I was involved in such a large project. Part of the building we were working on was still being framed while other parts were beginning to be finished. I got to spend a lot of time working with inspectors on getting units turned over and ready for finishes.
Q: What are some of the most important things you learned during your internship?
White: This summer I learned that not only should you always ask questions, but you should also be confident and assertive when you can. At the beginning of the summer, I would ask subcontractors to complete tasks when they could but by the end of the summer I was telling them when I needed a task to be done by. It can be intimidating as an intern because you do not want to seem too assertive, but learning and becoming more confident within yourself makes the job much easier.
How did being a student in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction help prepare you for this internship?
White: For starters, I got my internship through the career fair, so by being a student I was presented with this opportunity. Also, working a lot with plans and specifications in a lot of my classes made me familiar with the necessary tools when I needed to redline new addendums or help subcontractors find information. Working in a group setting and presenting in the classroom helps one break out of their shell and become more social which is a necessary skill when you’re working within many groups everyday on the job.
My internship was an amazing opportunity. It was a $50-million-dollar project that was comprised of 315 units and 2,000 square feet of retail space. This internship helped me gain more confidence in myself and gave me a lot of time to network. After completion of my internship I was offered a project engineer position upon graduation.
