Last summer, Aggie Square’s general contractor, Whiting-Turner, employed 14 summer interns. The students came Sac State, Chico State and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where they are studying construction management or civil engineering. Their internships provided hands-on experience at a large-scale, commercial construction project where they developed skills coordinating with subcontractors, estimating, site safety, quality control, cost management, problem solving and networking.

About a third of the students are the first in their families to go to college and about a quarter of them attended community college before transferring to a four-year university which serves as a great inspiration to youth considering this exciting career path. Some highlights the students shared during their end-of-summer presentation to the Aggie Square and Whiting-Turner teams include:

• Learning to read one-line diagrams of building mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems
• Assisting with subcontractor management
• Coordinating with subcontractors, suppliers and architects about the 120,000 bricks planned for the building exteriors
• Cost estimating, drafting contracts, bid leveling and value engineering for 1,500 doors in the Life Long Learning and Life Sciences, Technology and Engineering East buildings
• Planning for 105,000 square feet of ceilings in the two buildings
• Implementing a logistics plan that accounts for transportation, safety, materials management and maintaining order on the job site
• Learning about the quality control and inspections processes to keep the project moving ahead smoothly
• Building skills with essential construction management software such as Raken, CMiC, Bluebeam and Procore

• Learn more some of these interns' backgrounds and interests
• Kai Norman a 4th year student pursuing a degree in Construction Management at Sacramento State University. His first internship was with Valdez painting, and now he has an internship with Whiting Turner. He got into construction with no experience or family in the industry so his experience at WT has really confirmed that this is the career he wants to be in and is very excited to see where the future in construction takes him.
  
  Marah Yousif a 4th year student pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering at Sacramento State University. She wants to be in an environment where she learns everyday by overcoming challenges and solving problems. Interning at Whiting Turner provides that exact environment. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, working out and spending time with friends.
  
  James Rogers studied at Solano Community College and then transferred to Sacramento State University to purse his Bachelor’s Degree. James started as a business major, but recently made the decision to switch to Construction Management. He’s interested in learning the ins and outs of the construction management world and expanding his knowledge in the field. James enjoys coaching football, hiking and spending time with family.
  
  Calvin Kawano is currently a junior at Sacramento State University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Calvin’s goal is to continually expose himself to the construction and engineering field and impact the efficiency of building, designing and problem solving. In Calvin's free time he enjoys working on side projects that include residential remodels, improvements and repairs. Outside of work he enjoys going on hikes, cycling and fishing. Today he is currently an intern for Whiting-Turner working in quality  control.
  
  Emily Andrassy is going into her senior year at California State University, Chico pursing a degree in construction management. This is her second internship experience, the first being with Teichert TEU. She enjoyed working with Whiting-Turner on the general contractor side of construction, gaining confidence and experience with the built environment. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors with friends and family. She is excited for post-graduation life and starting her career.
  
  Reed Aitken, a project engineer intern at Whiting-Turner, helped manage 12 scopes of work at the Aggie Square project. He will graduate in June 2023 with a B.S. in construction management from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. This is Reed’s third internship and after graduating he will pursue a career in commercial construction project management. Outside his work, Reed enjoys fishing, golfing and hiking.
  
  Emanuel Ceja-Ceja is a student majoring in construction management at California State University, Sacramento. After working several years in the construction industry doing manual labor, he learned that he wanted to be in the management realm of construction. He hopes to build lots of buildings in the future and develop great leadership skills. Other than construction Emanuel is interested in going to the gym, traveling to new places, investing in the stock market and spending time with his family.
  
  Sam Hepworth is a junior at Chico State studying construction management and this is his first internship. He got into construction at the age of 18 as a laborer for a general contractor in Los Angeles after which he enlisted in the Navy before returning to school to pursue his degree.
  
  Amanda Mukhtar is a 4th year at California State University, Sacramento pursing a degree in construction management. This is Amanda’s first internship and she is confident that construction management is the career path for her. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with friends.
  
  Daniel Valladolid is a 3rd year in the Sac State Construction Management program. His first internship was with O.C. Jones and Sons and he now has an internship with Whiting-Turner. His previous construction experience includes helping his dad and uncles out with small projects. Now he is focused on growing his knowledge in and outside of the field.