This summer, Alena Wood had the opportunity to be an intern again at JP Cullen. She’ll be a junior this fall at UW-Madison, where she is studying Science Communication in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. We sat down with Alena to learn more about her experience.
This is my second summer with JP Cullen, and while my two internships have looked very different, both have taught me so much about construction. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn alongside experienced professional teams and contribute to the process of bringing these projects to life.
Last summer, I was a part of several projects in the Janesville area. My project team was working on multiple jobs all at various stages in the construction process. I learned so much through the variety of my day to day. No two days looked the same, and being on so many different projects allowed me to get great exposure to different pieces of the construction process. I might spend the morning working on submittals for a project that was just getting started and then my afternoon would consist of collecting close-out information for a project nearing completion. Getting to see a project that was early on, a project nearing completion and even a few smaller projects from start to finish, gave me a broader understanding of all the work that goes into bringing a project to life.
An important part of both of my internships has been going out into the field. Whether I was observing concrete pours, watching demolition, seeing the masons in action, or watching carpenters build temporary partitions, I experienced and learned so much walking the jobsite daily. The more time I spent asking questions and observing, the better I understood how the planning and coordination happening in the office translated to work in the field. It has been so cool watching drawings come to life both inside the trailer and out in the field.
This summer, my experience looks a little different than last. I am on a single project in Waunakee where we are doing some renovation work and building a secure entry addition at a local school. I’ve really enjoyed focusing on one project, especially one with a shorter timeframe only having a summer to get everything done. The stakes are high but seeing things progress so quickly has been awesome. I am watching firsthand how decisions made early in the project can influence work taking place weeks and months later, and following a project from start to finish has been a valuable learning experience.
While many of my responsibilities are similar to those from last summer, I’ve gained so much confidence in my abilities both to contribute and learn from my project team. Coming into this summer, already understanding the fundamentals of my role really allowed me to dive right into working and contributing to my team by taking on responsibility right away. Having that foundational understanding has allowed me to take on additional responsibility and become a more active contributor to my project team.
My roles this summer have included procurement tracking, submittal management, and I’ve overseen all of our concrete pour cards. On a fast-paced project, it has been important to stay on top of material procurement, I’ve learned the importance of organization and communication, there are a lot of moving pieces that have to come together to make sure a project hits it’s deadline.
In addition to my project responsibilities, I’ve also had the opportunity to work a little bit in the communications side of JP Cullen. After expressing an interest in that area, I was able to work with members of the Training & Development and Marketing departments. With the help of these teams, I’ve been able to help write intern surveys to gather feedback on the program, have gotten to travel to another jobsite to interview a fellow intern and share his story, and even got to present a presentation I created on communication methods during one of our intern days. It has been rewarding to see a different side of the company and learn how communication, storytelling, and employee development contribute to Cullen as a whole.
Looking back on my two summers with JP Cullen, what has stood out most isn’t any single project or responsibility, it’s the people. From day one, I’ve been treated as a member of the team. Whether it’s answering questions, sharing advice, or taking time to explain something in the field, people genuinely want interns to learn and succeed. The JP Cullen company culture has made it easy to ask questions, take on new challenges, and continue learning and growing as I advance into my career. Over the last two summers I’ve gotten to experience so much, and I’ve been fortunate to do it alongside people who are invested in my development and helping me succeed.
