The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

CM students intern
at Anchorage construction firms
BY TRACY KALYTIAK
Nate Seymour had been enrolled
in the civil engineering program at the
University of Alaska Anchorage for a
year when he decided the classes just
weren’t a good fit for him.
He thought UAA’s new construction
management program might be a
better choice.
“I had always really enjoyed construction
and thought it would be a rewarding
industry to get into,” Seymour
said. “That next fall I started in the CM
program and have really enjoyed it
ever since.”
That was three years ago. Seymour
is now working at Davis Constructors
and Engineers Inc. to fulfill the CM
coursework’s internship requirement.
“I have been doing paperwork
such as submittals and daily reports, a
little bit of quantity takeoffs and cost
estimating, and helping do SWPPP
(Storm Water Pollution Prevention
Plan) inspections,” Seymour said of
his internship at Davis, which he began
earlier this year and is expected to
complete in September.
Seymour has worked as a laborer
and carpenter for a residential construction
company and a commercial
contractor in Anchorage, but says his
time at Davis is providing a muchneeded
opportunity for him to apply
his classroom knowledge in a realworld
work environment.
“Davis is an incredible company,”
he said. “I am learning more now than
I have ever learned before. After my
internship, I believe I will have a better
understanding of the entire construction
process.”
Seymour says he is most interested
in high-rise and large commercial buildings,
as well as in LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design).
Jeff Callahan, director of UAA’s CM
program, says there are more than 100
students taking CM courses. Each student
seeking an associate degree must
complete a three-credit internship
course, with a total of
220 hours spent in a
workplace setting.
Those students
who pursue a bachelor’s
degree must
attend a weekly class,
complete regular written
assignments and
complete a journal
documenting their onthe-job
experiences.
“We’ve got interns
at nearly every major
construction firm in
town,” Callahan said
of the CM interns.
“Some work all summer
and into the
school year. Students are required to
arrange their own employment.”
Callahan says UAA’s career services
center provides a link between companies
that need skilled employees and students
who need to complete internships.
Companies interested in taking on
an intern may post an ad for free on the
UAA career services center’s Web site,
http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/careerservices/index.cfm.
Dan Sandvik, superintendent of
the Clark Middle School construction
project for Davis Constructors, says he
has supervised “two or three” interns.
“We try to get these kids while
they’re young, impressionable, and
train them the way we want them to
be trained,” Sandvik said.
One of those interns, Sheen Bjelland,
later became a Davis employee,
Sandvik said.
“He’s been working on submittals,
he’s been working on shop drawings,
change-orders, RFIs, substitution requests,”
Sandvik said of Bjelland. “He’s
doing great, he’s doing us a good job.
Sandvik said he has known Bjelland
for years.
“Sheen used to work out in the
field as a Sheetrock taper,” Sandvik said.
Former UAA CM intern Sheen Bjelland, now of Davis
Constructors, works on the Clark Middle School construction project.
“Being in the construction background
helped him step ahead of anybody else.”
Jerry Bryant, project manager for
Davis Constructors, has been working
with Bjelland for about a year.
“I keep him pretty busy,” Bryant
said. “He was just going to be
on for about three months but I put
him on permanent because he does
a good job for me and he’s going to
school. That was my requirement,
that he keep going to school. I think
right now he’s working on finishing
up his associate’s and going for his
bachelor’s. Every semester he comes
to me and asks about what courses
he should take, what courses would
benefit him in his job.”
Bjelland now runs the company’s
safety plan and does all of its safety
orientations, Sandvik said.
“He has a better understanding of
what we’re asking, of just grasping it,”
Sandvik said. “Anytime you get anyone
in the industry who’s been in the field
for a while, they’re much more knowledgeable
in the office. It’s always a
great combination.”
Tracy Kalytiak is a freelance writer in
the Palmer area.