Summer 2005
Co-op assignment brings students to Alaska
SOA students Kimberly Lis and Andrea Baird were introduced to their co-op assignment in Alaska with frigid temperatures.
Jerry Neubert ‘’70, with UDM co-op students Rachel Clark (left) and Jared VanderWeele
Five UDM School of Architecture students were recently hired for co-op positions at the USKH architecture firm in Alaska. Though their assignment is marked by extreme cold and snowy conditions, the students are fortunate to have an opportunity that few will ever experience. Below, Jerry Neubert ’70, who hired students Andrea Baird, Kimberly Lis, Jared VanderWeele, Rachel Clark and Jason Wah, for several of the firm’s Alaska locations, shares his experience with the UDM students.
Because Alaska does not have an architecture school, all the registered architects in the state come from somewhere else. Many of our professionals came during the hiatus of the pipeline construction in the mid 1970s. As a result, our firm, like others in Alaska, is aging with no immediate source of renewal. My supervisor asked if I had a solution. A quick call to SOA Associate Dean Steve LaGrassa put me in contact with the University’s co-op office. Soon after, I attended the Co-op Recruitment Day Workshop in October 2004.
The prospect of Alaska does hold certain magnetism, and the number of students wanting to come for a semester deluged me. Andrea Baird and Kimberly Lis were hired as co-op students in January 2005. USKH is a multidiscipline firm—large by Alaskan standards—with offices in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Wasilla and Juneau (with other offices in Idaho and Washington). The students blended well with the informal style of the 25-person Fairbanks office.
Their arrival at 1 a.m. to 20 degrees was not too difficult, but the next day, the temperature dropped to minus 40 and remained in that range for two weeks. When the temperature finally rose, the students were treated to frequent snow falls, so they gave cross-country skiing and dog mushing a try.
Work assignments spanned from organizing the sample room to day-long design team meetings with tour company executives on a new signature lodge being planned at Denali Park, 115 miles south of Fairbanks. The students’ training in Auto CAD enabled them to be productive team members once they became familiar with company drafting standards.
In addition to being a benefit to the office production, having two young people to coach and mentor was a morale boost for both architects and engineers. The interns provided a fresh look to all assignments.
This term, we have three third-year students from UDM. From the Fairbanks office, Jared VanderWeele and Rachel Clark are working on projects in Denali and Kodiak, along with Jason Wah, who works in the Juneau office.
Our long-range goal is to continue utilizing co-op students, provided the workload continues with the future goal of hiring graduated students for permanent positions. It has been a rewarding and enjoyable experience for all.
By Jerry Neubert ’70
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