Abi Summer Intern Spotlight

The team on their trip to Decatur Island in the San Juans.

The year 2020 was characterized by the Covid-19 pandemic. Like the rest of the world, ABI had been faced with many challenges in the beginning stages of the outbreak. We were fortunate enough through the support of our great clients and a strict Covid-19 procedure to begin in-person work during the summer. ABI chose to celebrate its unique opportunity by hiring on 10 student interns who were phased in and out from May until September.

We split our operations into three separate locations to properly address Covid-19 occupancy requirements. One location was dedicated to ABI management and functions, another was a garage focused on design-build projects, and the final location was tasked with research and development. Each intern had a primary location, with opportunities to intermingle at other spaces for different skill development opportunities.

Due to our interns coming from a variety of college programs across the country, the academic calendars varied. The following statements are from the three interns above (ordered from left to right) who were still working for us at the time of this update.

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9/25/2020

My name is Brandon Garza and I am second year at the University of Washington planning to pursue a dual degree in architectural design and construction management. I was hired on at ABI Inc. to be an architectural research assistant and it has been a blast. The time I have spent at ABI doing hands on jobs designing, planning, fabricating, doing on site client work, as well as working in the office has been so enjoyable and has really allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and adapt to new work environments and build this sense of working versatility that employers are looking for.

I have gained leadership and management skills which are going to be great going into construction management and I also developed skills in design and some architectural software like AutoCAD which will give me a head start in my software courses this fall. I really had an enjoyable time this summer at ABI and am really glad I had an opportunity to work for such a detail oriented company that strives to be better everyday.

I really enjoyed that though this summer was unlike any other with COVID-19 the business was still able to run smoothly and give us interns a great experience. I am confident that ABI has provided me with a great foundation in the architecture industry just because there is a more technical aspect to the work done here and a certain quality that you will not find anywhere else.

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10/13/2020

Spending the summer as an intern at ABI has provided me with skills and a critically detailed approach to architecture that is not learned in typical education. This is exemplified in the particularly well-organized office procedures, which streamlined my own integration into the office, and the emphasis on quality rather than quantity of work. Through reading and writing SOPs and specific objective plans I learned an approach to project work that is highly organized with clear direction.

I also had many opportunities to work actively with architecture and construction, including numerous inspection site visits. This included documenting and constructing an outdoor shower for a retreat property on Whidbey Island. Because it was a small project, I was involved throughout the entire process. From developing CAD construction drawings to working alongside our team of interns to construct and install the project.

In my education I am used to designing, but by working hands‑on I gained unique experience in construction feasibility and methods.

I also began a research project on Decatur Northwest in the San Juan Islands exploring why it is a successful community development. This was complemented by a trip with ABI to Decatur Island where we experienced first‑hand the uniquely beautiful landscape and site‑specific…