Summer means internship season here at JP Cullen. They are a vital part of our mission statement to identify, hire, train, and retain the best people to serve our customers. Each summer we take our 20+ interns through an immersive internship experience both on-site and in the office. Later, Hear about this process from our second-year marketing intern, Liesl Yerke.
Guidance & Mentorship
This program strives to acclimate our interns to our company culture of integrity and excellence. We start by matching each intern with a division, supervisor, and mentor. Through these pairings, our interns receive guidance with their industry, professional, and personal goals. Many interns spend their summers on the job site, learning to navigate active projects firsthand. We hope to be more than a summer job. There is only so much you can learn in a classroom, so we want to be a resource for our interns to learn and grow within the field. We encourage all interns to ask questions, make mistakes, and reach their potential.
3 Days, 3 Offices
Throughout the summer, our interns spend one day each month together exploring our offices and various active Jobsites. The goal of these days is to provide opportunities for them to gain exposure to different areas of our company that they might not see on their jobsite or position. At JP Cullen, we pride ourselves in our variety of self-perform work and it is important for our people to learn these processes at the face of the work.
The first day is at our founding office, Janesville, WI. After visiting the Cedar Crest Jobsite to learn about our structural wood framing operations, we spent the afternoon touring the office and yard along with educational presentations from our current industry specialists.
While our Janesville day focused on Technical education, Madison was filled with experiences. We started the day in a yellow school bus visiting UW Health East campus for a presentation and tour of our concrete operations. Then we were off to the Madison office for lunch overlooking the capitol. Our third stop was the McFarland Public Safety Center project where our interns got to try their hand at laying block with our masonry team. Our tours ended at Camp Randall’s South End Zone. There is nothing like the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the empty stadium, knowing our company helped make it happen. Our 7 UW Madison interns even got a photo on the field! The day ended with a Madison Mallards baseball game where interns could network with our Young Leaders group to gain guidance and support.
Our next day will be in Milwaukee this August, filled with more education and job site tours. Each office represents a different aspect of the company as they house different market sectors and support groups. By experiencing them all, our interns get a scope of our company and our culture. Their summer internship will conclude with an Intern Picnic, where we acknowledge and celebrate their accomplishments with their supervisors and mentors.
Personal Experience: Liesl Yerke
Coming into a construction company was intimidating as a Marketing major from UW Madison. I was unsure of the processes and lingo that came with the construction industry. I found that the people here always want to help. I was shocked that on my first day Mark and George Cullen, two of our generation 4 & 5 owners, stopped in my office to welcome me to the team and offer some much-needed advice. The marketing team took me under their wing, allowing me to ask questions, give input, and make mistakes.
I had three goals in my first summer: make a social media post, write a blog, and visit five job sites. I finished two of those in my first two weeks. I knew then that my potential in the company was unlimited. Although I do many “interny” tasks, such as putting stickers on hard hats and printing photos, I also led a ribbon cutting for Milton High Schools Pool, photographed events, and ran our social media pages.
By the end of my first summer, I no longer felt like an intern, I was a team member. I stayed working part time throughout my junior school year, and I continued into a second summer interning with Cullen this year. That’s the sign of a successful internship program.
If you would like to hear more about our internship program reach out to kelsey.bull@jpcullen.com.
