Meet Our Summer Interns

KWA had such a positive experience hosting an intern last summer that we decided to repeat the experience this summer … three times over! This summer, KWA had the privilege of hosting Stephen F. Austin sophomore Connor Manning, University of Oklahoma sophomore Cooper Pollacia and Harmony Science Academy senior Aline Torres. Our two collegiate interns, Connor and Cooper, worked in the field at construction job sites, while Aline, our Dallas Mayor’s Intern Fellows Program high school student, worked within the KWA office.

We checked in with our interns and all three reported back that their internships “exceeded expectations.”

Connor Manning, a sophomore business management major at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, worked closely with KWA Superintendent Heath Harris at our Center Place Phase 2 job site in Arlington, Texas. Hoping to begin his post-graduate career as a construction assistant superintendent, Connor says that he took the internship as a way to “get ahead of the game.”

Connor said, “I love seeing the way things are put together. Seeing the progress of a building [being constructed] amazes me.”

He visited several job sites throughout the summer months and reported, “My internship has exceeded my expectations. I was not planning on learning as much as I did, as fast as I did. My superintendent taught me many things that I would not have even known existed without this internship.”

Cooper Pollacia, a sophomore construction management major at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, supported KWA Superintendent Victor Cerda at The Millennium job site in McKinney, Texas. With future aspirations to own his own home-building company, Cooper was eager to work with KWA’s construction team this summer.

Cooper says he’s most grateful for getting to join The Millennium in the very beginning of construction. “I’ve gotten to see all the preparation that goes into pouring foundation for slabs. I have also learned management skills from Victor and got to know how the construction industry works,” said Cooper.

Although his dreams of driving a bobcat didn’t come true this summer, Cooper said he learned something new every day. “The team was extremely friendly. Both Shawn and Yvonne welcomed me and were patient with all of my questions. Victor went out of his way to teach me things on a daily basis, and I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity with KWA.”

Connor and Cooper were learning so much while working on their projects that we weren’t able to snap a picture of them out in the field.

Back at KWA headquarters, Aline Torres, a high school senior at Harmony Science Academy in Dallas, Texas, was quickly learning the ways of office management. Under KWA Human Resources Manager Holly Webster and Office Manager Jessica Medlin’s supervision, Aline was able to assist in process flow, documentation, event planning and general office management.

“I have learned that there is always something new to learn,” said Aline. “Every day, I learned something different. It might be as simple as how to use a different setting on Microsoft, to something such as how to make sure the office has its supplies and is running smoothly.”

Aline said she was interested in interning within the construction industry because her father has worked as an individual general contractor. She was paired with KWA through the Dallas Mayor’s Intern Fellows Program. The Dallas Mayor’s Intern Fellows Program is facilitated by Dallas nonprofit group Education Is Freedom, which helps students prepare and apply for college. Aline was one of 300 high school students placed in area internships this summer.

Thanks to all of our summer interns for your hard work and eagerness to learn. We wish each of you a wonderful 2014-2015 school year.