The Importance of “The Internship”
For the last 30 years, Visnick & Caulfield has prioritized experiential education within our office. Students not just across the Greater Boston region, but across the US, are welcomed here to engage in the design process – from material selections to construction observation. Among others, there are four invaluable categories by which we organize the value of internship experience: Application, Experience, Networking and Soft Skills.
Application
Students from architecture, graphic design, and interior design alike are welcomed to Visnick & Caulfield to apply the skills that they have learned in traditional educational settings. Traditional education skills are most often applied to drawing sets. While it is useful to have another set of helping hands, students truly become invaluable through the introduction of new perspectives and technologies into the office.
Experience
Application ties in seamlessly with experience. As students apply their knowledge to different tasks in the office, they are able to collaborate and receive feedback – ultimately building real world experience. While some conditions can be replicated in school settings, there is no substitution for the excitement of a deadline, or the pressure of creating drawings for an item that will physically be built. Students gain invaluable experience in this category by working across disciplines and developing their ability to communicate ideas visually.
Networking
Although the current global health crisis has made a dent in the way most industries are networking, internships provide students with opportunities to develop personal connections. Not only will students get to meet the professionals in their office, but they will get to engage with professionals across disciplines, such as engineers, contractors and real estate brokers. Students may also be given the opportunity to join their firm in attending industry events. Through this method, students can engage with different niches, meet new contacts, and build an ideal career path.
Soft Skills
Collaboration within the office, networking, and even emailing, ask the student to begin to refine soft skills. Soft skills are described as both invaluable and intangible. Not something that typically graces a resume, soft skills include eye contact, holding conversation, engaging in a professional manner and conflict resolution, among others. Also referred to as “human capital,” soft skills set apart candidates.
Across the last 30 years of business, we have been lucky enough to retain several brilliant designers who rose through our internship program. Here is a comment from Nicole Palagashvili about transitioning into the industry full time :
