Hokies’ summer bridge experiences brim with ‘best days’
Students from the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design put their best work and their best selves forward for potential employers and future colleagues during a variety of experiential learning opportunities.
Who doesn’t want a summer highlight reel?
The kinds of experiences and moments that immediately come to mind when someone asks you what you’ve been doing, whom you met, and where you adventured when spring classes ended and the fall semester was too far away to even think about?
For four students from the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, a big part of their summer highlight reels came from a variety of experiential learning opportunities that took them from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Vienna, Austria, and connected them with new coworkers that ranged from construction site employees to world-famous composers.
These kinds of opportunities are key components of the Virginia Tech Advantage initiative, which aims to provide experiential learning for all students, regardless of income or ability to relocate.
Although their worksites, assignments, and associates differed widely, all were able to experience the best of what bridge programs offer to those preparing for their next big career move: applying what they’ve learned in the classroom to real-world projects and collaborating and networking with professionals in the fields they are preparing to enter.
In reflecting on their experiences, these Hokies talked about what they learned, offered advice to others, and, of course, shared that best-day, transformational experience that was made for the highlight reel.
Juliana Iacono, industrial design
This summer, Iacono interned at Target Headquarters in Minneapolis, where she designed home, furniture, and lighting products for one of Target’s owned brands, Room Essentials.
What is the most important thing you learned during your internship that will help you succeed as a professional?
The most valuable lesson I learned during my internship involved the fast-paced nature of the design process at a corporate level and the large number of people involved in bringing a single product to market. From coming up with an idea to getting it on the shelf, there's a tremendous amount of work and collaboration required, which I hadn't fully realized before.
What advice would you give other students about finding an internship?
Never think your dreams are unattainable and start as early as possible. Send your portfolio to your dream firm, reach out to people on LinkedIn, and don't forget to showcase your work with pride. The application process can be exhausting, but as long as you stay true to yourself and don’t give up, the right opportunity will come when the time is right.
What happened on the best day of your internship?
One of the highlights of my internship was finally being able to present my design work to around 100 people. It was a proud moment for me, especially since public speaking isn't my favorite thing in the world. Overcoming that challenge and sharing my work with so many people across the company was extremely rewarding.
Jacob Alan Smith, music
Vienna, Austria, has always been on Jacob Alan Smith’s bucket list and was exactly where he wanted to be this summer when he took part in the Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival. As a participant, Smith attended private composition lesson with Viennese and international composers, attended master classes on contemporary music and advanced theory topics, and had an original composition performed by the world-class PHACE Ensemble.
Smith graduated from Virginia Tech in May and is now pursuing a master’s degree in music composition at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He’s actively composing and has several pieces in the pipeline, including a solo work and new music by Ivory Out of Time, a collaborative composer duo he helped create with Virginia Tech alumnus and composer William Rhodes while they were both students in Blacksburg.
What were some of the highlights of your experience at the Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival?
A big highlight of my experience, of course, was hearing my new piece “Noctivagant” performed by the wonderful members of PHACE Ensemble at the Lorely-Saal. They did a fantastic job at bringing my piece to life just as I envisioned it, and I couldn't be happier with the performance they gave. It was also a huge highlight to have my solo violin piece, “Phantom One,” performed by Irvine Arditti, founder of the esteemed Arditti Quartet. I also very much enjoyed getting to know all the other composers there and listening to their music. A lot of them wrote in styles very different than mine, so it was great to be able to hear their work and figure out what they've been doing to achieve that result.
What was it like to be able to work on your craft as a composer in a city like Vienna?
It was wonderful. Vienna is the center of the world when it comes to concert music, being the birthplace of composers such as Mozart, Hadyn, and Schoenberg. It was tremendously inspiring to be in a city where so much history related to my craft happened. My time spent there has definitely served as source material for a new piece or two. It's such a beautiful place too.
What is the most important thing you learned that will help you succeed as a professional?
I didn't so much learn about it as I actively participated in it: networking. When it comes to the music business, networking is key, and there are few places better than Vienna to get to know the people working higher up in my field. I met numerous other composers while I was there, from early career composers like myself to folks who were career composers and professors at other universities. It was also great to be able to interact with the people who play this kind of music a lot and consider it their specialty. Getting input from the performers who will be bringing your work to life is important not only for professional reasons but also to improve as a composer.
What advice would you give other students who would be interested in applying for the festival or a similar opportunity?
Just go for it. Put your best work on your application and go for it. The worst thing that can happen is that they say “no.” If you do get into this festival or one like it, congrats. Bring your best work to the festival and prepare to share it. Get out, explore the city, and take lots of pictures. They'll serve as great inspiration either while you're there or later on. Some of my best experiences in Vienna came from just wandering around and stumbling upon things that ended up being super interesting. And keep up with the other musicians you meet. You don't know when you'll meet them again, and connections are important in a field that so heavily emphasizes human contact and the sounds that bring us all together.
Bre Pitts, architecture
Pitts, a second-year architecture student, spent her summer months completing an internship with Miner Feinstein Architects, based in Frederick, Maryland. She enjoyed the chance to collaborate with coworkers ranging from graduate students to long-time professionals and learned about the process and what it takes to turn an architect’s design into a constructed building.
What is the most important thing you learned during your internship that will help you succeed as a professional?
The importance of remaining a student even after college. The firm that I worked with — Miner Feinstein Architects — would host what they called "lunch and learns," where different manufacturing companies would come present their products to keep us informed about additional ways to build. Also, remaining a student will help me succeed as a professional in the sense that being very well-rounded and open to change makes me a better team player when working alongside contractors, engineers, interior designers, and so many more professionals.
What happened on the best day of your internship?
On the best day of my internship, I took the D.C. Metro for the first time to measure a property close to the Convention Center. I loved gaining the experience of measuring a site and drawing up a plan from the early stages of a project. I got to meet the business owner of the property, connect with them on their goals for their business, and do my part as an intern to help them secure an operating license. Meeting the people whose lives we're impacting through architecture made most of my days feel like a "best day,” but this experience stands out because I started feeling the limitless possibilities that being an architect has to offer.
What advice would you give other students about finding an internship?
My honest advice is to follow what makes you happy. You want to find an internship that will elevate your knowledge/experience and help you form meaningful connections, whether it's at an architecture firm, construction company, or anywhere that makes you happy and suits your goals. A nice resume will get you past the application, but your reasons for being in your chosen field will make you stand out. I did not get hired for my experience, especially being a first-year with very little knowledge of the software. I was hired after sharing why I want to be an architect, and they taught me everything I needed to know to be an asset to them. Being teachable, passionate, hardworking, and patient has gotten me this far and continues to present me with opportunities.
Joshua Lennick, graphic design
Lennick completed a summer internship with Visual Appeal LLC, a graphic design company in Mechanicsville, Virginia. The projects that he worked on for the firm’s customers included designing a branding package, creating assets for a social media campaign, building a new website, and creating advertisements.
What is the most important thing you learned that will help you succeed as a professional?
The most important thing that I learned from this experience that will help me in the future is teamwork. Graphic design is in no way an easy thing to do, and you need to collaborate with peers along your journey for a project. It is never easy to overcome problems unless you talk to someone.
What happened on the best day of your internship?
The best thing that happened to me during my internship was, honestly, my first day. I was extremely nervous going into the work place the first day because I didn’t know if I would be accepted or if it would be hard work. Then I quickly learned that everyone there was so accepting and excited for me to help them with their journeys as well. I learned a lot from different designers with different styles throughout my time working there.
What advice would you give other students about finding an internship?
Be confident about yourself when communicating with potential employers and make them want you instead of you wanting them. Definitely also have different options for an internship because you could get accepted into the first one you applied to but then also be accepted into one that is a better opportunity.
