WHY DID YOU SEEK AN INTERNSHIP WITH JRM?
I started working for a company in my hometown of Moscow, ID in the supply chain department, which was cool for a while, but I got tired of doing the same thing every day, and I started to become fatigued by the repetitive nature of the job. I started a new HR position at that company and found that I really enjoy connecting with people, but I didn’t really get the opportunity to do any creative problem solving. I’ve always lived in Moscow, so I also wanted the opportunity to branch out.

When I went to the University of Idaho career fair, I was looking for companies outside of my area where I could experience what University of Idaho calls a “co-op internship,” taking a semester off school to focus on a longer-term internship and getting a trial run of what’s it like to be a newly hired employee. What drew me toward [this internship] was the opportunity to work full time and be here long enough to learn the job, contribute to projects over a long period of time, and take ownership of my work. I met James and Alma at the career fair. James is an alumnus, and the thing that really drew me the most was the fact that you get to do something different every single day, and there’s always new problems to solve.

After I got my job offer, I packed up all my belongings and moved to Vancouver, WA and started work this January. In my first week, I was immediately on site at the Bull Run Dam project. It was a cool experience to take in and learn what the construction industry was like and what working at the dams was like. I hadn’t gotten into hydroelectric construction before this experience—I was doing concrete side jobs here and there with my dad—so it was a really cool experience to be immersed in the job, take it all in, and learn as much as I could. It will be beneficial for projects moving forward, too.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO INTERN WITH JR MERIT?
Well, I was very skeptical at first because the company I was previously working at did have a very strong company culture. Talking with James and Alma at the career fair during my interview and in conversations with Rich and Kat following that, I asked a lot of questions about the culture, since it’s extremely important to me.

At JR Merit, everyone really does care about each other. Everyone takes on the persona of “Own It” because it’s still small enough where things come up and you might not necessarily have the resources to not figure it out—you have to figure it out. I feel very fortunate because there was a lot of trust that was given to me throughout the course of my internship. Everyone works super hard and takes ownership over their work on a project, and I really appreciate it. This gives you a good foundation for life after interning here, either staying on or at a different company.

WHO’S BEEN YOUR MENTOR DURING YOUR INTERNSHIP?
James Riebe is my mentor. I’ve been in his back pocket pretty much from the start of my internship, so he was at the Bull Run Dam site, and now we’re starting a new project at Round Butte Dam in Central Oregon.

James’ teaching style has been very applicable to how I learn, which is hands on. He’s not going to sit me down in a room and just talk at me for an hour, he’s going to show me what we’re looking at on sites. James is a very hard worker and good example of just how you should manage your projects, treat your field employees, and everybody in the office. He’s also always going the extra mile. He helped me out in a couple instances outside of work, like when I had a flat tire that had rusted to my break disk. I called James, and he showed up with his service truck and helped me get back on the road.

WHAT’S ONE SURPRISING OR UNEXPECTED THING YOU’VE LEARNED SO FAR FROM THIS WORK?
I was expecting to do a lot of paperwork and not really be responsible for projects. I wasn’t expecting to basically be a fully trained project engineer by the time I was done with my internship. In my experience, there has been work I can do on my own, but it always would get passed through somebody else. Here, it’s pretty cool to have that trust and more ownership over certain things and a good amount of work that I get to contribute to. It’s been a really good opportunity for learning on the job and feeling more fulfilled.

WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP?
It was a little bit of a steep learning curve figuring out all the related technical language. There’s still a lot of technical stuff I don’t know that comes up in meetings. The technical barrier is definitely steep. Every day I am learning something new, whether it is how a trust bearing works on a turbine or knowing the difference between a forklift and a telehandler. There are no stupid questions here, and I feel like I can ask anyone when I need to.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE DOING THE MOST IN YOUR ROLE?
I love working with a team. We have a really cool team dynamic here where everyone will really give it their all. We’re working on a large project right now and formed the project team back in May. Since then, we’ve been creating the functions of the team and seeing the downstream connections between each person, how we relay different points of information, and where different people contribute to the work.

Also, getting to say that you work at a 70- or 50-year-old dam is really cool. Not a lot of people can say they can do that. At the Bull Run Dam for example, the whole reservoir is blocked off because it’s the city of Portland’s water supply, so we had to be escorted in and out of there every day. If I wasn’t in this role, I wouldn’t need to go out to cool places like that. I’m an outdoorsy guy, so I like working outside and not being stuck in the office all day.

WHAT DOES YOUR FUTURE LOOK LIKE?
Next week, I’m going out to a job that I bid on during my time here, and I’ll be an onsite project engineer for the following two weeks. After that, I’ll pick up all my stuff and head back to Idaho where I’ll be doing more of an administrative support role remotely from school on future projects. I accepted a full-time position with JR Merit this summer, so after I’m done with school next year and back from my senior trip in Europe, I’ll be back to continue work on Round Butte and start as a full time project engineer. I would recommend this experience for anyone if they have the time to take a long-term internship since it gives you a good idea of what the work is going to be like. This is the first internship I’ve had where I can see myself doing this work and really enjoying it long term.”

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