Internship Spotlight: Bre Pitts

This summer, a number of our students have been participating in internships. Rising second-year architecture student Bre Pitts shared her recent internship experience.

1: What is the name of the firm/company you’re working for?

Miner Feinstein Architects

2: How has this internship affected your understanding of the industry?

This internship has shown me that architecture is what you make it. I’ve had the privilege of observing how flexible architecture can be from getting to know my coworkers who are either in graduate school or have been working in the industry for years, learning from the owners what it takes to run a firm and still help employees achieve their goals, and being around the people whose environments we’re improving. I’m grateful to have experienced this internship immediately following first-year foundation because now I value work that seems tedious or redundant.

3: What was something you learned through your internship that you can apply to your studies?

Besides AutoCAD and an introduction to Revit, I now have a better understanding of how 2D is translated into 3D. I did a lot of sketching and concept constructing in lab, but this internship has shown me how sketching, paired with photography, becomes your foundation for starting architectural drawings. I now have a deeper understanding of the process that architects go through to get a building constructed. I also plan to continue learning about building construction alongside architecture because this internship exposed me to the importance of being technically skilled in construction. I learned this through my attendance to meetings with general contractors, structural engineers, and interior designers.

4: What has been your favorite part of your experience?

My favorite part of my experience so far is probably going to DC for a commercial project. I really love meeting the people we’re working for and I love the ability to travel to places that I’ve never been able to visit. This part of my internship has to be my favorite because it made me feel the most fired up about being an architect.