Perspectives A Summer to Remember: Interns Reflect on their time at BranchPattern

Jacob Sorensen

To the interns of BranchPattern’s future,

First of all, thank you to BranchPattern for the opportunity to gain a significant amount of real-world experience. This internship has taught me more about engineering than packing my summer full of classes. However, I did enjoy applying knowledge from classwork to real-life applications. I loved working at BranchPattern because of the consistent project work. When one project wrapped up, another was ready to take its place.

I’m proud to know that my contributions this summer will benefit the community I live in. I worked on a diverse group of projects all within the region, from several schools in Iowa, a local Salvation Army building, and a vet clinic. It’s a great feeling to have gained valuable experience that will help me in school and career while helping the community at the same time!

My advice to future interns is to work hard. If you are willing to put in the effort, there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from everyone at BranchPattern. The team members I worked with were more than willing to take time out of their day to teach me more about engineering and push me to further my skills.

Sincerely,
Jacob Sorensen

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Ethan Markey

Future BranchPattern interns,

This summer was a great success. I know I left BranchPattern with the knowledge and experience I was hoping for.

I learned the steps of the mechanical design process, and the primary tasks performed by the engineers in the office. I loved learning about the variety of mechanical systems used in buildings and how each piece of equipment in the system contributed to heating, ventilation and air conditioning. I also loved witnessing how BranchPattern encouraged their clients and design partners to choose a system that best aligned with their sustainability and comfort goals, then worked hard to ensure that the system was designed correctly.

I thoroughly enjoyed working at BranchPattern because of the excellent work environment promoted by the Denver office. BranchPattern maintains a relaxed and comfortable workplace but keeps the expectations of quality high. Everyone I interacted with were knowledgeable, willing to delegate tasks to me, and answer all my questions, no matter what.

I want to give a special thanks to the Mechanical Engineers: Matt Coulter, John Blauman, Tim Victor, Jason Koele, Patrick Carttar, and Scott Hornick for being my mentors this summer and enriching my experience at BranchPattern.

My advice to next year’s BranchPattern interns is to reach out to your team whenever possible. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or for ways that you can be helpful. Also, keep your eyes and ears open to everything going on to make the most out of your experience.

Sincerely,
Ethan Markey

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Youngjoo Son

To the next class of BranchPattern interns,

I was grateful to be chosen as BranchPattern’s Pittsburgh intern.

It was a pleasure learning during my short time at here. The passion for people and projects runs very high with each team member. It was obvious that BranchPattern works hard to provide a work environment and culture that motivates employees to do their best.

What I loved the most by working at BranchPattern was that everyone lived up to the company’s purpose of Improving Life through Better Built Environments.  I enjoyed the warm-hearted people who were very nice and took the time to speak with me. BranchPattern cares about everyone being engaged in projects, from the clients to project managers to their Corporate Services team.

I was glad to discover that my learning in academia aligned with my experience at BranchPattern. If you are looking for a company that uses a human-centered approach when planning, designing and consulting on better built environments, BranchPattern is the right place for your summer internship.

Sincerely,
Youngjoo Son

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Reed Knettle

To the future BranchPattern interns,

You will enter BranchPattern as a blank slate and leave with some great knowledge and memories.

I’ll always remember going to the State Historical Society of Missouri in Colombia, MO with Andrew Bridges and Jon Brolhorst for my first-ever site visit. I learned how important all the books of code are, and you will too. I learned how projects flow through different phases. I learned a lot about the mechanical and electrical systems of buildings from performing the various tasks I learned about in each discipline, such as chilled water systems, power systems, and HVAC.

I loved working at BranchPattern. I also loved participating in the fun field day and bbq with the KC team, throwing darts, and eating durian fruit.

I thank BranchPattern for giving me the opportunity this summer to be a part of their engineering team and for the experience of working in a professional office. Also, thanks to BranchPattern for helping me learn the process of a project, while learning more about this field.

My advice to next year’s BranchPattern interns is to work on a variety of tasks in ALL of the disciplines, with as many different team members as you can. You will learn so much, and you will be inspired by your diversity of knowledge. And don’t be afraid to ask questions if you get stuck because everyone is willing to help you figure it out and learn more.

Sincerely,
Reed Knettle

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Rebecca Jacobs

Dear future BranchPattern interns,

I have gained some pretty great skills and a lot of wonderful memories from my summer at BranchPattern. I learned so many applicable engineering skills, and I will always remember the times I spent getting to know my fellow interns over lunch in the courtyard outside our building. I will also cherish the relationships I built with members of the team and plan on keeping in touch in the future.

I loved working at BranchPattern because of the incredible people and the company-wide unique culture. As a matter of fact, I also had the pleasure of working at the Kansas City office for a day. From my dual location experience, I could tell every BranchPattern employee truly represents the values and culture of the company. I am very grateful to have been a part of such an enjoyable work environment.

Thanks to the BranchPattern family for being so welcoming and for the opportunity to be part of some of the amazing projects we worked on this summer. I also would like to extend gratitude toward everyone who took time out of his/her schedule to help the other interns and me learn new skills.

My advice to next year’s interns is to never take yourself too seriously and ask a lot of questions. When you reach out, the team is very willing to help you learn.

Sincerely,
Rebecca Jacobs

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Nikita Khlopotin

To the future BranchPattern summer interns,

As the summer draws to a close, I am increasingly thankful for the internship opportunity at BranchPattern.

The Denver team was incredibly welcoming and went out of their way to include me in projects and opportunities that allowed me to explore the different aspects of BranchPattern’s work, including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and energy modeling. Scott Hornick, Patrick Carttar, Jason Koele, Erica DiLello, and Carina Medsker were all fantastic to work with. Their expertise, enthusiasm for getting me involved, and support in showing me the ropes made interning at BranchPattern a delight.

One of the most striking things about the office was the sense of community which was an important source of inspiration in creating a successful, positive work environment.

To next year’s BranchPattern interns, I encourage you to be an active participant and get involved in as many diverse projects and teams as possible. For me this involved talking to people from every department and offering my help. Learn as much as possible about what they do.

Thank you to everyone at BranchPattern for this summer opportunity and for being so welcoming, professional, and helping me strive to be the best intern I could be.

Sincerely,
Nikita Khlopotin

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Nico Ruiz

Dear Future Interns,

I have learned so much about the world of Building Consulting, especially mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems design, during my summer at BranchPattern. From duct sizing and placement, to electrical panel schedule balancing.  Having the opportunity to work with multiple teams truly taught me so much. I had no idea that learning about codes and standards used in MEP design would be some of the most important knowledge I gathered. Becoming familiar with UFC, NFPA, and other codes gave me insight to how building systems are planned out.

I loved working at BranchPattern because everything I worked on was new and interesting. I also loved that the staff and office culture were incredibly accepting. I was happy to work on each task given. And I know the team was happy to have the extra help. The projects were interesting, and I was encouraged to collaborate with other departments and learn as much as I could.

I want to thank BranchPattern for allowing me to work with them this summer and gain real world experience. I’d also like to thank them for providing a welcoming atmosphere and supporting my growth as a student.

My advice to next year’s interns is to jump right in. Don’t be afraid to engage with team members and seek additional tasks. Ask questions about your tasks and why things are done certain ways. Everyone here wants you to succeed and will support you.

Best Regards,
Nico Ruiz

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