My name is Anias Welcome and I’m an intern here at Alberici Constructors. Born and raised in New Jersey, I have been traveling from state to state for school in recent years. I graduated from North Carolina A&T with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering, and I’m currently pursuing a Master’s in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. This is my second internship experience and it has been my best experience overall.
My first internship was with an engineering research lab in Champaign, Illinois. For two years I’ve been working on a program that would aid soldiers in evaluating existing structure without having prior knowledge in construction. Most of my time has been spent behind a desk staring at a computer screen and reading and educating myself with building codes, common material defects, and programming the data into software. While I have learned a lot, I know that is not the setting I want as my career. I was looking for an internship that offered more interaction and involvement with the construction of a project. When I found Alberici at a career fair, the representatives assured me that an internship at Alberici would truly be a hands-on experience.
The first week with Alberici started out strong! The first day was very well spent at an orientation in St. Louis. There, we were introduced to the some of the Alberici workers and given in-depth background of the company along with construction site advice. The orientation showed me how much Alberici valued their interns and the future of the company. The following day, I drove to the construction site in Indy where I will be at for the remainder of the internship. I was eager to experience being on a construction site and learn the role of a project engineer!
I’ve been on the OB4 FedEx construction site for about a month now and it has changed the way I look at construction. I spend about a week or two with people from various fields to learn their specific role and its effect on the overall project. This past month, I have been working under Kyle Pfundt for safety, Brandon Lamprecht for quality control, and Matt Johnson and Nathan Gibson for project engineering. Although my expectations were high going in, they have been blown out of the water. I was amazed and a little overwhelmed at first with the amount of knowledge each mentor instilled in me. From walking in the mud to check the quality of the concrete to climbing up on the roof deck to check the bent plates, I felt I was truly part of the project. Ametra Harris, Dan Niemeier, and Dave Evans aided me in this journey. They were willing to share their wisdom and guide me, and it has made my time at Alberici more enjoyable and fulfilling. I will forever appreciate the Alberici team in Indy for an awesome first month.
