October 25, 2022

Summer Internship Chronicles

It’s a wrap on Riley’s 2022 Summer Internship program, and the reviews are outstanding!  The program was led by Chief Operating Officer, Erin Anderson, and supported by mentors from our operations and safety teams, strategically chosen to complement each intern’s individual career paths. Seven college students and one high schooler spent the summer learning the business from the inside out and were able to make meaningful contributions to several of Riley’s most high-profile construction projects.

“While getting exposed to the industry, working with field leaders, and attending a lot of job site visits, I was treated as if I were an actual employee, and this made my internship experience extremely realistic.” – Chelsea Vu, Construction Management Student

Part One: A Warm Welcome  

In their first week, interns toured Riley’s Kenosha Headquarters and were treated to lunch with the Riley team members. Interns were given an overview of the program and Welcome Kits with goal sheets and activities to accomplish. They met their assigned mentors and received their schedules and project placements to learn what their summer would look like!

Part Two: Jumping Right In

The interns began with weeklong rotations in Riley’s Construction Technology and Quality Control departments. Interns worked directly with mentors on model-based tasks including field layout, laser scanning, and building coordination. They also conducted quality inspections, attended pre-installation meetings, and were introduced to the Riley InSTEP® processes.

Next, each intern was assigned a project team and assisted in both office and on-site work.

“I assisted the PM and PE in their day-to-day activities,” said MSOE Intern Chelsea Vu. “These include reviewing submittals, conducting material quantity take-off and product procurement, writing scopes of work, drafting purchase orders and change orders, attending subcontractors’ meetings, weekly team meetings/pull plans, and log reviews. I also bugged the PM, PE, and field leaders with lots of questions!”

Marquette University Intern Jack Schmidt added, “I contacted subcontractors to get updated lead times and ship dates for procurement items and reviewed submittals and building scopes of work. Each week, I took progress photos of the projects I was assigned to and uploaded them to Procore [project management software].”

Throughout the summer, mentors planned a variety of jobsite visits to see our crews in action. Interns were given the opportunity to see concrete poured, precast installed, and steel erected while learning about the process from the perspectives of Riley’s field superintendents and safety experts. UW-Oshkosh Intern Mikey Volkmar said, “My favorite experience was visiting jobsites periodically and physically seeing the progress as the jobs continued.”

Maddie Connell, an intern from Marquette, found the diverse interactions with teams from Riley, subcontractors, and customers, an engaging way to learn. “I attended weekly owner, sub, and team meetings. Most of the time, my day-to-day tasks varied vastly,” she said.

“Riley helped reaffirm that Project Management is what I want to do with my future. Everyone was helpful and willing to teach us.” –David Trainor, Civil Engineering Student   

A Fond (and Fun) Farewell

Before they returned to school, Riley Construction brought the interns for a fun-filled day at the Game Show Battle Room to celebrate a successful summer of hard work! They enjoyed lunch and competed against each other in gameshow style games. Interns learned the value of team building and creating a fun work environment that supports creative collaboration.

Kudos to all the 2022 Interns for a fantastic job – we’ll miss you and hope to have you back as interns or, perhaps, employees!

2022 Interns

  • Konnor Kamm, UW-Whitewater (Construction Safety)
  • Jack Schmidt, Marquette (Construction Engineering)
  • David Trainor, Marquette (Civil Engineering)
  • Maddie Connell, Marquette (Civil Engineering)
  • Mikey Volkmar, UW-Oshkosh (Project Management)
  • Chelsea Vu, MSOE (Construction Management)
  • Andrew Knudtson, MSOE (Construction Management)
  • Caitlyn Getzloff, High School Student

2022 Riley Intern Program Mentors