Meet Truley Wallhaus, an exceptional intern at JP Cullen whose journey over the past three summers has been nothing short of transformative. Truley’s dedication and passion for the construction industry have allowed her to grow from a novice intern to a key team member, taking on increasing responsibilities each year. She brings a unique experience working on the same project for the past three years seeing it’s progression. Join us as we dive into Truley’s inspiring internship journey and the valuable lessons she’s learned along the way.
Every day and each returning year brings new experiences as an intern at JP Cullen. This variety has made my experience very special. I have been lucky enough to work on the same project for the past three summers, allowing me to see the project’s progression.
During my first summer, I was working on concrete and steel, starting each day updating logs before heading into the field to see the action firsthand. In my second summer, since I had more experience, I gained more responsibility. I assisted with carpentry tasks, created lift drawings, conducted field inspections, and interacted more with the foremen. By my third summer, I was able to take over the specialties scope, diving deep into the drawings to figure out what was needed in various areas and aligning with what the owner wanted. Over these past three summers, I’ve improved my understanding of the construction industry and have grown my communication skills.
My most memorable responsibilities have been creating lift drawings and communicating directly with the foremen. By creating lift drawings, specifically for interiors, I was able to reference architectural and electrical drawings to connect how items come together. By connecting the drawings, I was able to come up with questions for my mentor and questions for the architect. These questions helped to grow my understanding of industry standards and professional terminology. The interior team – Bronson, Blythe, and McKenzie – have been so helpful in my learning. Bronson truly took me under his wing on my first day and taught me how to look at drawings in the field. Blythe is extremely resourceful and can answer any question I have within seconds. McKenzie has also been a significant help to my understanding of why industry standards are the way they are.
As an intern, it can be challenging to jump right into a project that is already underway. It can be a struggle to not know the full picture of the project such as understanding the client’s needs, what has already been completed, and what the next steps are . I was pushed outside of my comfort zone to find some of the answers to these questions..
In the beginning, I started by talking to my mentors to learn more about the project’s current status and remaining tasks. I then reached out to the foremen to ask them what they were working on and how they got to that point in the construction. These conversations helped me to build trust with the team. As I became more involved in the project, I had some additional questions that even my mentors could not answer, which further pushed me out of my comfort zone to find the answers. I learned to prepare my questions, create visual pictures, and expect follow-up questions back. This experience taught me the proper, most effective way to ask questions, how to gather the needed background information, and how to grow my working relationships with others.
Overall, my internship experience at JP Cullen has been great. The family culture here is evident which is a big reason I’ve returned each summer. Everyone is eager to share their knowledge and willing to teach.
Interested in becoming one of our interns for the Summer of 2024? Check out our intern positions and apply today!
