SCA or “The School Construction Authority” is an architecture firm based in NYC that specializes in building and modernizing schools, according the company’s mission statement. During the springtime, Mr. Rodriguez (Architectural Drafting teacher for sophomores) gave students a flyer to apply for an internship at the SCA, which is how two students found about the internship and the potential to work at an architecture firm.
WHSAD Juniors, Jared Birks and Isaiah Grant Phillips, were fortunate to attend the SCA Internship over the summer. I was fortunate to speak to these students about their experiences.
Student Interviews
Jared M. Birks
Alex – Hello Jared Birks, Introduce yourself..Where did you attend this summer for your internship?
Jared- Hi my name is Jared Birks and I had an internship at the SCA and they sent me to a company named ACON.
Alex- So where did you learn about this internship opportunity?
Jared- So when we were in school one day, they had these papers with our GPA’s on them, and I believe it was on the back they had a little flier for the SCA if you had your GPA in a certain level…so that’s how I found out about this program.
Alex- Did you have any doubts about joining the program…Well as a matter of fact, what made you interested in the program?
Jared- Well I wanted to gain more experience in the architecture field and feel out if this is something I’d pursue in my life and will want to dedicate time to.
Alex- Alright…did you have any doubts about getting into the program initially?
Jared- Yes! So I had to go through a whole interview, like a job interview and the woman who worked there said if I got accepted, they would email me in two weeks. And two weeks came and there was no email, so I was like “Oh so that’s unfortunate, I didn’t get accepted.” And then I came to find out that a week after that, they were like “Oh you got in”. I felt confused, because weren’t you supposed to email me a couple of days back? But I was glad I got in.
Alex- So how did the interview go? Did you fully understand what the interview was about or did you mess up some things every once in a while?
Jared- Well I was definitely nervous, but my parents helped me to practice. And the interviewer wasn’t giving us hard questions, they were just simple questions. So I was able to get through it.
Alex- I think you already stated how you felt after you got your confirmation that you would be attending and working at the program. You said you were very confused, because they sent you a confirmation after two weeks. Any additional thoughts on how you felt after the confirmation?
Jared – Well after the confusion, I felt relieved that I got in because I was like “Yes! I get paid this summer!”
Alex- Did you have an orientation or anything similar?
Jared – Uh yeah, so first of all we had the orientation at the SCA, which is in Long Island City. I had to take the G train to Court Square. It felt like it took forever. We had the orientation and then we had to go through a 10 hour OSHA training.
Alex- Oh, ten hours?
Jared – Yes
Alex- So like 10 hours in one day?
Jared – No it was split into 5 and 5, so after the orientation, from like 12 through 5, we had the entire OSHA orientation. I was trying not to fall asleep, because I really didn’t feel respectful if I fell asleep. I was like “please don’t fall asleep, I don’t want to disrespect these people and what they did. But it was actually ok.
Alex – And when you actually went to the place for the first day, what were your impressions on the workplace?
Jared – When I got there, they had a set-up of some chairs around- you know how they have those weird curved lamps?
Alex- Like a chandelier?
Jared- Yeah…no, not a chandelier. They start from the ground and they curve up?
Alex- No I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about, haha sorry.
Jared- It’s ok, but yeah it was a really nice set up and then there was a receptionist in the front desk and she said “Oh just wait here.” And then the guy will come pick you up, there were also three other girls there, our co-workers. Yeah that was it.
Alex- Were you guys on a different level? Like you had your regular adult co-worker that actually worked at the offices full time, right? And you had interns like you and other people, and I wanted to ask, if the interns and workers are on the same level? Or was there a barrier between the interns and the full-time workers?
Jared- Well, there wasn’t a barrier, although we did work in a separate room from them. But that’s just because we were trying to actively do work. So we had to go to a separate room, but I always felt we could go to them (The full-workers) and ask them if I needed anything. They would be able to help me.
Alex- Hmm, let’s see what else we got…What was your impression of your co-workers? Not just the interns, but the actual workers at the firm. Like did they influence you to work more efficiently?
Jared- Well the actual co-workers, they…as I said earlier, they helped a lot and I felt a lot that they made my job easier. Like one of the jobs, we had to draw something and I was panicking because I didn’t have a ruler or a pen. But there was this person named Denvil and he had a whole office full of pens and everything and I would be like “Thank you!”
Alex- Oh so did he lend them to you or did he let you keep the pens for good?
Jared- Well he lent them to me. I made sure to give them back. He said you don’t have to give them back, but I just wanted to give them back just to be nice.
Alex- Ah, sorry. So back on topic, how did you influence your co-workers, were you a positive influence, funny, serious, maybe a combination of each?
Jared- Honestly, I don’t think I influenced them a lot. I feel like I tried to be funny or be a calm person, but they were just chill people. When they were told to do their job, they did their job. But during lunch breaks, we would watch movies and things of that nature. So it was just kinda nice being around them, because they weren’t serious to a fault, but also they weren’t playing a lot to a fault.
Alex- Alright, so is there any work that you can show us or tell us about that you’ve made in the internship that you’re able to share? Like pictures or anything really.
Jared- Well unfortunately I don’t have my work, and I do not have pictures of my work. But for our first little project, we had to do a lot of design for a school. It was an empty lot that they didn’t have anything for-
Alex- Like an empty garden? Oh, tell me, it’s better if you explain it.
Jared- It was actually a tennis court, so we like to design it. There were lockers on separate sides, for the away team and the home team. So they would be able to go in and have their own locker room without mixing up before the game. And also there was a little concession stand for the school to get extra money. We were able to add benches, lunchroom tables, and things of that nature. And also, if it’s ok with you, I wanted to add that we had this program on Fridays called “Aim High” and it was a different experience. There’s this guy named Sherman Brown, he was a very motivational speaker, but one thing I wanted to point out that the program is that it let me get out of my comfort zone. Because the program would force us to talk with everyone else, and I ended up talking to a lot of people and learning about the people and different stories/backgrounds.
Alex- Well the interview is done, but I wanted to ask you one more thing. Would you recommend this program to sophomores or like Juniors who are interested in going into the architectural field?
Jared- Yes, I would recommend this program, because even if you don’t end up liking it, we have actual work, we have to get up at 9 to 4. Because they can’t make us work 7 hours a day or something like, but yeah they can’t make us work too much. But you at least have to try once, just to see how you feel and just to be able to mix into that type of environment.
Alex- Alright, as a final question, what are your overall thoughts on the program? Did you like it? Did you dislike it?
Jared- I actually liked it a lot. I got to meet a lot of people and I was able to get experience.
Alex- Well, thank you very much for your time.
Jared- No problem!
Isaiah Grant Phillips
Alex- Hello, first and foremost introduce yourself please.
Isaiah- Ok, my name is Isaiah Grant Phillips and I did SCA for this year’s summer. I got a certificate for that and aim high and that’s mostly me.
Alex- How did you find out about the SCA progra?
Isaiah- I figured out about the SCA program with Mr. Rodriguez. He was the one who recommended the program to me and with the continuation of Jared helping me. And I was able to get in.
Alex- Alright, were there any struggles getting into the program, like did you doubt yourself that you were going to get into the program initially?
Isaiah- Uh, yes because at that time I was failing pretty badly. So I wasn’t too sure because they had a specific rule that you had to pass all your classes. But they were able to give me a chance. And on top of that, I missed my interview for the internship, but I was able to get a second chance which I do appreciate.
Alex- Thats nice, how did you face the interview? Did you struggle or did your interview go really well?
Isaiah- I feel like I did pretty bad, because the teacher,well not the teacher, but the supervisor was asking me questions that I really didn’t understand. So I was hesitating a lot and I guess she understood that. On top of that my interview was scheduled at a certain time that I was on the train and I had to reschedule the interview for another day. So my interviewer seemed pretty mad at me in the beginning, which I really didn’t want to happen. But it still did.
Alex- So how did you feel when you got the confirmation letter/email that you would indeed be working at SCA?
Isaiah- Um, I felt really grateful because I started off on a really bad foot. You know, failing a class, missing the interview twice and when she called me for the interview I was on the train. I didn’t think I would get in, as I was wait-listed, but she did give me a chance to do the interview, which I was grateful for, other than that I am still in contact with her, and she is a very different person than I thought she was.
Alex- She was a different person in the sense that she was nicer or a different person in a bad way?
Isaiah- Yeah she seemed really intense in the beginning because she didn’t smile or anything. But after that, I started to know her more, she seemed really polite and always had a smile on her face. So for me, it seemed like not everyone saw her like I thought initially.
Alex- And what were your impressions of the workplace/office building?
Isaiah- For the office building, I had a pretty low standard. But for me, I had a really good experience. Because there weren’t a lot of people in my office and I was able to get my own office.
Alex- That’s cool.
Isaiah- So I was just doing my own thing with my computer.
Alex- And how did you feel with your office, did you feel more clear minded? That you were able to actually do work?
Isaiah- Uh yes I could, because it was a very quiet place. When I got in there, the only thing I could hear was the AC running. So there weren’t a lot of distractions for me, so if I was getting distracted, I feel like my music would help me concentrate on whatever I was assigned with.
Alex- I asked Jared this question, but are there any pieces of work you can talk about? Or is it all confidential?
Isaiah- It’s not really confidential. I’m not really too sure as I never asked them. But they are renovating Cypress Hills High School, and one of the assignments they assigned us was to re-frame all the images and to add them to Autocad to redraft them. That was pretty difficult for me. It took me about two weeks to finish it. But they really loved the finished product coming from an intern, so they were pretty proud of me. That made me feel confident in myself.
Alex- How was the overall workload? Was it stressful? Flexible? How did you do the work overall?
Isaiah- It’s a lot different from school. It’s not like you usually know what you’re doing there. They just assign you something, so they don’t tell you in advance, they just give you something to do. So like some days I would be in my office, other days I would be scanning papers, so I would never really know what I’d be doing. The days were all pretty difficult, but fun at the same time. So I really didn’t have a problem.
Alex- Alright, how did this internship help you with your skills in the architecture field, like did this internship open your mind to the fields and possibilities?
Isaiah- Yeah I felt like they refreshed my skills in Autocad as we were learning Autocad back with Mr. Rodriguez in sophomore year. But we stopped because the school year ended. So the experience taught me a lot of skills I now have, and I can draft a whole lot better. What they taught me at my firm I feel like once I get back to drafting, I’ll feel like I’m ahead, which I am usually not.
Alex- Would you recommend this program to sophomores? Any other grade that can keep up with the workflow?
Isaiah- Yeah I feel like for SCA, if you want to enhance your architecture skills, especially if it comes to drafting, they have material for you. It’s not like you’re paying for it, so you have a lot of design products, like Revit, Autocad, Adobe Indesign. And it helps, you know, understand, like if you’re going to trade school you actually know what you’re doing rather than being behind everyone else.
Alex- Any final thoughts?
Isaiah- I feel like you should come to SCA with an open mind because it’s never what you expect. So I would really recommend it to any upcoming juniors and upcoming sophomores.
Alex- So thank you very much for taking the time to have this interview with me and for the extensive answers.
Isaiah- Alright, no problem.