Andrew McMillan, an Alberici project engineer, just completed his first week at Alberici. Here, he reflects on his experiences.
From small town living, to big city aspirations, my first week with Alberici has been an amazing experience to say the least. I hail from the city of Wixom, Michigan – no surprises here if you don’t know where that is on your map – but it was there that I developed my interest in construction and “the way things are made.” Those deep-seated interests followed me on my path to Michigan State University where I picked up a degree in Construction Management and a few internships on the way. As graduation grew closer though, I was filled with a desire to branch out, test my limits and work towards becoming the best Project Manager I can be. Alberici was how I decided to accomplish that.
One week into my young career and I’ve already experienced more that many friends back home have been able to accomplish in years. As a member of the newly-redesigned Alberici Career Training (ACT) program, I’ll have the opportunity to spend time in different departments such as legal, safety, estimating, etc. to get a better feel of the company and each person’s role. The first department I was placed in was Quality, on the Route 47 Washington Bridge project. Quality Manager Carlos Polkshowed Dan Niemeier (another ACT participant) and I through his everyday work and the multitude of quality checks that must occur each day. The ones that stuck out the most to me were the air entrainment, cylinder and slump tests in concrete.
On Wednesday, we had a large concrete pour to complete one of the bridges pier caps, allowing us to spend the day at a concrete plant. We verified that the materials given to us were up to par with what was required by the specification using the above-mentioned tests. It was really interesting to see all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into a concrete pour and apply what I learned in the classroom over the years to a real life experience.
Huge thanks to Carlos and the team at the Washington Bridge, here’s to more amazing weeks to come!