Students help lead construction projects with Student Affairs Facilities
For Kyle Hendricks, Sydney Sokol, and Gracie Cornish, summer unfolded in attics, crawl spaces, job sites, and construction meetings that most students never see.
These students joined Student Affairs Facilities and Operations last summer, serving as assistant project managers on the department's annual renovations across residence halls, dining halls, and student centers.
Knowledge gained
Cornish, a mechanical engineering student, spent much of her summer in Pritchard Hall, which she called her home away from home, helping coordinate its renovation. She also helped with the transformation of Owens Hall’s former grab-and-go Chick-fil-A into a made-to-order dining venue and worked on a structural stabilization project at Oak Lane, where steel helical piers — like massive screws rotated into the earth — were used to lift a sinking foundation.
For her, pride came from steady progress.
“It was never, ‘I can’t believe this happened.’ You spend every day on it. … I’m proud of all of it, but it’s not a surprise when it’s finished. It’s what the plan was from day one.”
Sokol, who studies human nutrition and public health, contributed to updates ranging from new carpet and paint in New Residence Hall East to full bathroom renovations in Vawter Hall. She takes pride in one of her first responsibilities, coordinating vendors for a generator replacement.
“I was in charge of getting quotes for the concrete, the crane we’d need, and the specific wires and conduits. It was a simple project, but a great introduction. Seeing the concrete poured, all up to code and matching the drawings, was cool.”
Hendricks, an architecture student stepping into a senior intern role for his second year with the program, worked on several campus upgrades, including Schiffert Health Center office spaces and a new dining hall entry at Turner Place.
“Our interns from the summer of 2025 excelled,” said Dan Crowder, project manager for Student Affairs Facilities and Operations. “Their ability to take on independent assignments allows our department to remain nimble while also achieving a high output.”
Many of the projects involved infrastructure hidden above ceilings or behind walls, invisible work with a real impact.
“You don’t notice fire alarms until you need them,” Cornish said. “You don't think about plumbing until it stops working, but it’s huge for safety and quality of life.”
Problem solving
The trio’s daily work included visiting job sites, documenting progress, coordinating contractors, and keeping timelines on track. “I thought I knew what project management meant,” Sokol said. “There are so many hands in every little detail.”
A few inches’ discrepancy in Vawter Hall brought electricians, plumbers, mechanical crews, and the university building official together with Sokol to solve it, a moment that illustrated the complexity behind campus renovations.
“Knowing how to get what you need done in the most efficient way possible, who to collaborate with, is something you learn,” Hendricks said.
“You’re also working with people who have been in the industry longer than you,” Sokol said. “You have a shared goal to get the project done. The question is, ‘How are we going to get there as a team?’ not ‘I’m telling you what to do.’”
The students also handled cleanup before inspections, gathering leftover materials and ensuring rooms met code.
One Friday, they formed a relay line to move three pallets of heavy flooring across a building and into an elevator.
“It was rough,” Cornish said, “but it was done together.”
“Sometimes the best decision isn’t perfect,” Sokol said. “Sometimes the best decision is the one that keeps us moving forward.” Photo by Alexa Shockley for Virginia Tech.
Looking forward
Sokol hopes to build her own house and said the experience gave her confidence and connections that make her dream feel real.
“Even if I don’t go into a profession related to this, the things I notice and know now will be beneficial,” she said. “Now I’ll be in a restaurant and think, ‘Oh, that conduit is ugly.’ Once you know what’s behind one job site, you start wondering what’s behind all of them.”
For Hendricks, the internship broadened his understanding of his own field.
“The project management side of architecture is something I hadn't considered much before, and now, I can see a world in which I do it professionally.”
“Project management is a life skill,” Cornish said. “Leadership and being able to communicate with people … you can never have too much of that,” Cornish said. “Checking in on people, keeping things moving, knowing the best way to approach someone when they're not meeting your needs, and knowing when to step in versus when to let a team keep pushing forward — those are skills I’ll use anywhere.”
To see the projects, view the Summer 2025: Projects in Review booklet.
