Getting Situated.

Getting situated. 

My first week at the internship was spent becoming acquainted with the ways of the office. I found a parking spot that didn’t already belong to someone, I got a tour of the building, and learned who is willing to answer a high schooler’s questions and whom I should avoid in the lunchroom. An important part of my first week at the office was also meeting the “Dream Team”, which is a team of people who all work under my advisor, Agnes on the different construction projects taking place on campus. These people are the designers, engineers, construction workers and sustainability experts that actually carry out the projects. These guys are fun because they show the different options you have to work with in sustainable architecture in “the real world”.  I am still working on names and faces, but all of them have been very welcoming and offering help when I need it, and sometimes even when I don’t need it.

Since it was the very first week, I spent a majority of the time at the office reading and messing around on a computer. I was not aware how much computer software I would actually have to use, and how little patience I have for any technology. Nonetheless I did learn how to use it, with help from many members of the “Dream Team” of course. Along with the computer stuff, I had to read article upon article about all the possible sustainable materials that can be used for a building. I read about how they are all made, where they are made, how they’re transported and used and then how they are disposed of. Which I am going to be doing for another few days considering there are a lot of different materials that can be used.

This week I did realize that one of the best parts of this project is that I am working in an office with people who have established careers in the field I wish to study, and I am on a college campus with professors that teach the stuff I want to learn. It is amazing because I can now constantly bug these very hard workers with any questions I may have regarding any topic similar to their fields of expertise. I haven’t had the chance to actually ask any questions just yet, but it is still nice to know that if I do need some answers all I have to do is walk into the next office.