Meet the OPP Interns - Evan Smith

Interview by Ali Sherretta, OPP Communications Intern

Evan is majoring in construction management engineering and will be a sophomore at Penn College in the fall. He is interning at OPP as a project management intern with Kurt Coduti and Ron Perttu.

Q: How did you hear about the position you applied for?

Evan: My father, who works here. He's in maintenance.

Q: Describe the main project(s) you will be working on for OPP.

Evan: There's a lot, but Kurt has campus beautification, which is a lot of small projects. He gives those to me to work on. Ron has given me a couple, like the salt storage, and compressed decommissioning projects. Kurt has given me a couple of small sign projects too.

Q: Can you describe your typical work day?

Evan: I'm in at 7 a.m. I check my email, check in with Kurt and see what he needs, and then check in with Ron.  From there it's a lot of computer work. Around mid-morning we usually try to get out on site somewhere just to break it up. After lunch it's whatever the afternoon holds. It really depends. It's different every day. That's why I like it.

Q: What has your internship prepared you for thus far?

Evan: Communication has definitely been a help because college obviously doesn't do that. Real world communication and just the different views of being on the owner and the customer side for construction management.

Q: After reflecting on your internship, would you recommend this experience to others?

Evan: Definitely. It's kind of different than a big contractor because it's a set time and job.