Constructing a job offer from an internship

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Constructing a job offer from an internship

Real-world experience is the crux of any effective internship, and Utica College students are gaining powerful hands-on learning that in some cases lead to job offers even before they’ve crossed the commencement stage.

Jordan Leogrande '19, a construction management major, gained valuable insight as a pre-construction intern at a Texas-based construction firm.

After applying to many construction companies, Leogrande was thrilled to score an interview with the organization at the top of his list (which he’d prefer not to identify).

“I have always been drawn to a bigger playing field,” he says. So when one of the largest commercial construction firms in Texas offered him a summer internship at their Dallas headquarters, “I jumped at the opportunity.”

In his role, Leogrande analyzed data to provide quantity take-offs— construction management lingo for estimates of materials and labor required to complete a job. His work focused on the company’s aviation projects, which included international airport expansions and renovations.

“I would arrive at my office around 6:30 a.m., have a Donut-Shop K-Cup, and get to work,” Leogrande says. “My goal each day was to walk out of the office knowing more than I did when I walked in.”

A Central New York native, Leogrande says he wasn’t exactly prepared for the Texas heat.

“It’s a stereotype that Texas summers are hot, but I'm convinced that you don't know real heat until you spend a summer in Texas.”

His coworkers and supervisors were “some of the brightest and most passionate people in the commercial construction industry,” he says. And the feeling was mutual: Leogrande was offered a full-time position as an estimator at the company after he graduates in spring 2019. “Being handed that job-offer letter is the proudest moment of my life to date.”