Externship

By Robert Musial

Two years ago I signed up for the externship program through the Southern Illinois University Alumni Association. In order to sign up for the externship program you had to be a third year in your program, have a 2.75 G.P.A., and an adequate resume. Which follows up with an interview with one of the faculty members and then being placed with an externship over spring break. With that being said, I had to accomplish a lot of things that I had never done before. For example, I had to write a resume for the first time, which was quite difficult for me. When you start a resume with no professional experience in the architecture field and I also wanted to make my resume a bit more artistry than your typical business resume that is made in Microsoft Word with Times New Roman point 12 font.  Next, was my first formal interview. I had learned a lot just from that interview and I am thankful for it because now I enjoy interviews rather than being nervous and stressed out about them. One thing I have learned is that going into an interview you cannot go in with a humble mind set. You will have to talk yourself up which I was not very used to. I still remember the first question, “tell me a bit about yourself?” and I have learned that it didn’t have to be an autobiography about you, but rather what are you currently doing and something interesting that you have done in the past year that is related to the professional world. Lastly, was my first ever externship. I was placed in an externship with Legat Architects at their Oakbrook, IL office. At my externship I had done actual work rather than just job shadow, make coffee, and make copies. The first project I worked on was taking an AutoCAD plan of a jewelry store and making a 3D Revit file.  The next project I had was to make a 3D Sketchup file of Ohio University’s new library for an interior design project. This was the first time I was tested because they needed the model done in the next couple hours and I got show that I was capable of the job. The last task was going on a job visit. I went on a job visit to the College of DuPage recreation center. They were doing renovation work on the indoor pool and the gymnasium along with some other tasks. I got to see how a construction meeting was run and I got to see how the architect inspected the site after the meeting. After my externship I had ask if they had any positions open for summer interns. That summer I had my first internship at Legat Architects. I am very grateful for Legat Architects and the Southern Illinois University Alumni Association for allowing me to take advantage of this opportunity and it has help to blossom me to the architectural student I am today.