I just finished the fifth week of my internship. It has been great! I really look forward to going to work every day which makes me feel like I really belong in this profession.
I have been asked to do a lot of work but I cannot help but want to be in the shop doing more hands on work. I mentioned this to Kristi and hoped one day soon they would let me. Last week we had two extremely large commercial projects having to be completed in a short amount of time. Matt, the shop supervisor and fabricator asked me if I would take the plans he had and put them into a CAD based program for him to print out a template. He uses this template to place over the stone slab in order to cut it correctly to size. Of course I was extremely nervous because it is not like if I mess up the material is cheap and can be easily replaced. I was very careful and as precise as I could be.
It was nice to know that they would trust me to do this type of work for them. They did have to look over what I had done before making the template, but knowing how busy they were, and how they gave me the chance to help, really meant a lot to me.
So that was the big learning experience for my 4th week but this week it was a site visit.
BOY OH BOY is it difficult to talk with people who do not even know what they are talking about or understand anything you are saying. I accompanied Mrs. Pam, the owner, on a site visit to a house in Bay. St. Louis. It was a remodel of a cottage style house. The flooring was beautiful, the walls and trim were beautiful but..... why ruin a good thing having people who do not fully understand what they are doing or what you want or need remodel your kitchen. Although I have a lot of faith in people and hope that they are good people, cometimes I just have to admit to myself that not everyone has your best interest in mind.
Once everyone at the job site, appliance representatives, cabinetry installers, contractors, etc. had their time with the client, it was our turn. We spoke with her about the specific types of materials she thought about using and the reasons for her choosing those materials. We decided that it would be best for her to come back to the showroom to look at all the different options rather than try to explain them.
Once at the showroom, Kristi and I took over. Kristi pulled samples for us to look at when we got back from the job site. The client kept turning to me to ask me my opinion. She kept saying "well you are in school and know way more than I do and you have also been to my house and know what I am looking for." Surprisingly, she also told me that she trusted me. It may be small words to her but they are so much bigger to me. I like knowing that I have earned the trust of a client.
Well enough talk about the client visit. All in all, these last few weeks have made up the biggest learning experience I have ever had and I cannot wait to learn even more in my last three weeks with them.
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