Fall 2019 Internship Success for Student and Employer

Whether it was assisting with the BIM components of a large project or 3D modeling an office building, Hamilton Heights High School senior, Luke Theiser was very busy this past semester. As part of a paid internship, Luke traveled daily from his high school campus to the Hagerman Group Fishers office to apply what he had been learning in his courses.

“He came in with REVIT knowledge, resourcefulness, and a willingness to learn and assist with any project,” detailed Luke’s internship supervisor Denise “Dee” Woodard. It was only weeks before that Dee has started in her role at Hagerman as a VDC engineer, and soon thereafter, she found herself in charge of Luke as he wanted to explore the construction imaging field.

The experience peaked when Dee was working on a project and needed to add a crane to a worksite on the White River. She had Luke assisting alongside her to assist with the BIM Model on this project, and Luke was able to reflect on his experience and knowledge to know he could go out to the marketplace and find a prefabricated crane model to complete their project. For both Luke and Dee, this collaboration was a testament to the value of the internship.

When asked what Dee might tell another company about the internship, she exclaimed, “Do it!” She furthered her response noting the importance of current employers to “expose younger generations to the opportunities in the industry.”

This internship was made possible through a unique collaboration between educator Eric Fisher, the Hamilton Heights School Corporation, Office of Work Based Learning and Apprenticeship (OWBLA), and Indiana Construction Roundtable Foundation. Mr. Fisher teaches construction courses at Hamilton Heights as part of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s State Earn and Learn program. Looking to expand the program, Mr. Fisher continues to place students in internships and is looking to expand to new facets of the construction industry.

To learn more about the program or to learn about hosting an intern, email Matthew Nance at matthew@indianaconstruction.org.