Fighting Blight: Interns Skip Introductions, Jump Right to Work

Ripping out wooden boards, cleaning up a garden area and weed whacking might not be the typical intern experience during the first week.

Then again, the Walbridge internship experience isn’t typical.

Walbridge’s 2019 Interns got on site in mid-May and after some initial orientation in the office, the team got together with Blight Busters for an opportunity to volunteer by cleaning up a Detroit neighborhood and removing blight.

“It was a great opportunity for the interns to meet one another, get out of the office and help out in the community,” said Jake Samborski, Walbridge Senior Training Specialist. “The interns really took to the task too; they jumped right in and started helping out immediately.”

Walking into the area, Walbridge’s safety department gave a safety orientation, went through the Walbridge PTA/DTA process, and encouraged everyone to have an open discussion on any site dangers. Then the team went to work.

Walbridge interns worked with Detroit Blight Busters to kick off their 2019 internship.

The intern group took a lot away from the project too.

“I have done service projects in the past, however, I have never done one where the work I performed had an instantly visible outcome,” said Walbridge Project Controls intern Lia Mastroianni. “We were able to actually see the progress of our work turn into an end result that was able to help better the community. I enjoy having the opportunity to help in the community; there is a sense of gratification knowing the work you performed has helped others in some way.”

Mastroianni, who is spending her summer in the Detroit office and attends Michigan State University, added the volunteer project was a good chance for the team, which came from across the country, to get to know one another.

“It gave us an opportunity to learn about each other’s backgrounds, roles and perspectives,” she said.

David Tingley, who is working out of Walbridge’s Florida office in preconstruction services, helped remove plywood and debris among other things. He said he took away a lot from the experience.

“It was a good introduction to how Walbridge itself runs its job sites,” the University of South Florida student said. “It helped teach us safety practices, why we do certain things on a site and what to do if any problems are to arise while we are working on a site.”

That was the plan, Samborski said: Introduce them to our safety expectations, let them have some fun, help in the community and gets everyone to know each other a little better.

“This is a great group of interns and I’m excited about their future,” he said.