Student Summer Internships

Emma Stentz: Spectrum Design

We asked Emma Stentz, a rising fourth-year undergraduate architecture student, about her summer internship at Spectrum Design in Roanoke, VA.

“Since my first month, I’ve had the chance to take on more responsibility—contributing to drawing sets, participating in internal reviews, and observing client and coordination meetings. These experiences have given me a deeper understanding of how projects evolve and how different disciplines work together throughout the design process.

The best part of this experience has absolutely been the people. The Spectrum team has been beyond welcoming, kind, and always willing to go the extra mile to support their interns. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this family, and I hope I am lucky enough to return in the future to continue contributing to their impactful projects across the Southwest Virginia region and beyond.”

Reid Sapp: True Homes

This summer, rising third-year undergraduate architecture student Reid Sapp has been interning with True Homes, a custom home builder based in his hometown of Charlotte, NC. Reid has had the opportunity to experience both the construction side of homebuilding and the in office design work.

“A big part of the internship was a charity build for people who lost their homes in Hurricane Helene across western North Carolina. We’ve helped build 16 homes so far, with 4 left to go. Each one is designed to house 1-2 people and give them a solid place to rebuild. Being on the jobsite, working with different trades, and seeing how it all comes together was super eye-opening. It felt great to be part of something that really impacts the state community I grew up around.

In the office, we spent time on designing townhomes for the Matthews NC area. Being located near the more historic downtown area we took a lot into consideration when designing them to make sure they look and age in a similar fashion to downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.

After finishing drawings for the townhomes, I brought them to life using Unreal Engine. Spending time with it in a professional setting really showed me how powerful it can be and how much of a gamechanger it is for the field.

Overall, working with True Homes has been a great time. It’s been fun to apply what I’ve learned at Virginia Tech and to get a real understanding of residential design and how much work goes into getting something built.”

Lana Roach and Jayelen Thompkins: TMPartners

This summer, rising fifth-year undergraduate student Lana Roach and rising second-year master’s student Jaylen Thompkins interned at TMPartners in Nashville, TN. We asked them to share their experiences.

Lana:
“I’m on the healthcare team at TMP working on projects across all phases of design, this can range from initial design charrettes to construction documents. Being on a team that designs buildings that can positively impact people’s lives through space and place has been incredibly valuable to me. The most important thing I’ve taken away from this experience is a deeper understanding of healthcare architecture along with all its complexities and how to design for the best user experience possible.”

Jaylen:
“This summer, I have had the privilege of serving on the Commercial and Retail Design team at TMP, an experience that has profoundly influenced the course of both my academic and professional development. Contributing to a range of projects at various stages—from schematic design to design development, as well as participating in site visits—has deepened my understanding of the design process and expanded my capacity as a critical design thinker. Through this internship, I’ve come to recognize architecture not merely as a discipline of form-making, but as a powerful medium that shapes human experience and influences daily life across diverse contexts. What I will carry forward is not only a strengthened appreciation for architecture’s reach and responsibility, but also the invaluable mentorship and collaboration I’ve experienced with a team of deeply creative and seasoned professionals.”