"My Internship With Fidevia" - By: Gavin Buchta, Senior at Cedar Cliff High School West Shore School District
“As a senior in high school, I am faced with the reality of selecting a college major and a path to follow after graduation. Thankfully my high school offered a work-study class that allowed me to be an intern and learn about a potential career. My internship is with Fidevia Construction Management & Consulting and I’m learning about a career in Construction Management.
I didn’t know anything about what goes into the structure of a building. Since the start of my internship, I have learned so much about the construction industry, especially the management side of things. Mr. Binkley has done a great job at explaining things to me and has made sure that I understand what I’m looking at.
The building has transformed in a short amount of time. When I started, the brick on most of the outside walls wasn’t laid and the building wasn’t painted yet. There were hallways that looked extremely bare with little to no pipes. The hallways are now fully piped. A few weeks ago, I was able to watch holes being cut for the HVAC units to be dropped in. Most schools have acoustic ceiling tiles and I didn’t realize that they concealed piping and data wire. Mr. Binkley informed me that on this project there were six miles of conduit run to ensure electricity and data would reach all parts of the building. Being able to observe all parts of the construction process has been extremely helpful. I can now understand the basics of all the trades whether it be electrical, masonry, plumbing, or HVAC. My internship started later in the construction phase so I missed the foundation work for the building. On a smaller scale, I was able to see the concrete footers being filled for the shed where the school will keep all of their landscaping utilities. This gave me an understanding of what it was like before the entire foundation was constructed.
This opportunity has given me a glimpse into all of the trades on a construction site.
Seeing the progress of the construction and understanding the importance of a project timeline and schedule has been a valuable experience. I’m looking forward to many more months of seeing the building progress and learning from the construction team and specifically my mentor at Fidevia.”