Three years strong, our A/E/C Intern Partnership has been an intern experience unlike any other in the Kansas City region. 

2021 presented a unique year with a lot of new development happening across the region. These projects will impact our communities for years to come and we’re excited to have a small handprint on a few of them.

Thirty-two interns participated in our program this year. Interns represented universities from across Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, studying in a range of areas from human resources, marketing, accounting, engineering, construction, architecture and design.

One of the core principals of the program is to really demonstrate how instrumental collaboration between firms and stakeholders is during a development project. It really does take teamwork to make the dream work. Understanding the relationships and seeing how the project comes together is a valuable experience for the interns before they enter the workforce.

Our 2021 program partners included fellow A/E/C firms Hoefer Welker, Hollis + Miller Architects, Kissick Construction and Turner Construction. Our Municipal partners were the City of Blue Springs, Missouri, and the City of Lenexa, Kansas.

The first field visit in the rotation took our interns to the City of Lenexa, where they met with City Public Works staff and engineers. The City of Lenexa is a growing community and attractive to new development. These developments require municipal infrastructure such as roads and utilities. The interns went on site to observe the stormwater system installation for a new subdivision development as well as a road maintenance project where the City was repaving a roundabout on Prairie Star Parkway.

The second field visit was hosted by Kissick Construction. Kissick is leading the charge on utility relocation for the City of Kansas City, Missouri, as they prepare for the second phase of the Kansas City Streetcar extension from downtown to Brookside.  Beginning at Union Station, Kissick and other contractors are locating underground utilities and making preparations for the new streetcar tracks.

The City of Blue Springs hosted our third field visit. The weather was unfavorable this day, but the group was able to hear from local experts on the new developments in the eastern areas of the metro. Discussions included a status update on the Blue Springs Logistics development, to the north of I-70. This development will also include public infrastructure improvements. Other active projects included water treatment and roadway overlay.

The last day of the program, and probably the most exciting, ended with a full day of site visits and a lunch and learn with Partner Leadership. Our interns started their day at GEHA Field At Arrowhead, where Turner Construction gave the group a construction briefing, project background and tour of all the renovations happening at the stadium for the upcoming Chiefs football season.

BHC hosted lunch with a Leadership Panel comprised of Kevin Honomichl, Rob Welker and Andy Heitmann, followed by their next site visit to the Occidental Management development project, Aspiria. Mark Sherfy, P.E., PTOE was on site with the interns guiding them through the Preliminary Development Plan Review and a site discussion.

From there, the interns ended their day at the offices of Hoefer Welker. The interns learned about the architect’s design process and the design charrette. The charrette falls directly in the mission of our intern program by teaching the interns the importance of collaboration within projects and relationship building in our industry.

We asked a few of our interns about their experience over the summer. Here’s what they had to say:

“The A/E/C intern partnership was a highlight of my summer. Not only were we exposed to other disciplines and groups that help bring a client’s ideas to reality, we also connected with a diverse and fun group of interns that I’m sure we’ll run into later in our careers!”
-Adam Bendrick, Civil Engineering & Spanish Dual-Major, Kansas State University

“My favorite part about the A/E/C Intern Partnership experience was the opportunity it gave to be exposed to different corporations and municipalities during a short time period. I also found it especially valuable to see the differences between the public and private sectors from the civil engineering perspective.”
– Trey Bebee, Civil Engineering Major at the University of Nebraska

“Over the A/E/C Intern Partnership, I had the opportunity to see how the three entities (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) work with one another to take an idea and turn it into reality. This program also showed me the complex nature of projects, and how there are many variables that need to be addressed before a firm undertakes the costs associated with one. Overall, it is an amazing opportunity for interns interested in the AEC industry to get a firsthand look at what their career path may hold!”
– Brody Stegman, Accounting Major at University of Kansas

If you’d like to learn more about the A/E/C Intern Partnership Program, please contact lisa.huddleston@ibhc.com