TOP FIVE REASONS TO INTERN AT MSKTD
Here at MSKTD, we’ve been blessed with some amazing interns over the years. For us, training interns presents an excellent opportunity to pour into students and to watch them grow in the profession. Recently, we sat down with some of our current interns, along with a few interns-turned-employees, to get their take on the experience. Here’s what they said.
CULTURE
The number one reason our interns seek positions with us—and interview for full-time positions when they graduate—is our culture. “MSKTD has a great work culture, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working here,” said Karston Lingenfelter, current intern.
Ryan Sprague, architectural graduate who interned with us in 2020 and 2021, agrees. “My decision to join MSKTD was easy after spending two internships building relationships with co-workers,” he said.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
With offices in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, MSKTD has been privileged to serve clients throughout the state and across the nation. That’s what initially drew Kendall Johnson, architectural graduate, to our firm.
“When I was hired on as an architectural intern in May of 2022,” he said, “I was drawn to MSKTD due to my familiarity with their work in the Fort Wayne area and the prospect of being involved in projects near my hometown of Auburn, while having the ability to live and work in Indianapolis.”
Tyler Bracht, project architect, landed internships with MSKTD spanning the summers of 2015 and 2016, along with a handful of winter breaks. “I started looking into internships after attending the College of Architecture and Planning job fair in the spring of 2015,” he said. “I’m from Northeast Indiana, so Fort Wayne seemed like a natural fit for internships between semesters.”
PRACTICAL AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Of course, no internship would be complete without full exposure to all aspects of the profession. “In such a short amount of time,” said Evan Johnson, architectural graduate who interned with us in 2021, “I was exposed to several different phases of an architecture project, where I was able to gain valuable practical and professional skills.”
Ryan concurs. “My internship with MSKTD lent me experience and insight to a real-world view of how the architecture/engineering world works,” he said. “I was able to see the complete process of projects from the negotiation of contracts and proposals through designs phases, culminating in the construction phase of projects.”
SOLID REPUTATION
With four vertical markets (Healthcare, Higher Education, Hygienic and Food, Corporate and Civic) and a wide range of projects, both large and small, MSKTD maintains a solid reputation as a premier architectural firm, not just in Indiana, but across the nation.
That’s what captured the attention of Keaton Coulter, current intern. “I decided to pursue MSKTD for an internship because I saw that they had been a part of very important projects that I was interested in,” he said.
Evan agrees. “MSKTD is a well-known architecture firm that I knew would provide me with real-world experiences and career preparation that would go beyond what I could learn in a classroom.”
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT
Taking a personal and professional interest in our interns is always a top priority, one that Kendall appreciated. “My choice to pursue a full-time position with MSKTD came from their expressed interest in my personal development as an aspiring architect,” he said.
Advancement was a key reason Tyler pursued a career with us as well. “I was talking with four different firms,” he said, “but MSKTD just felt different. The opportunities for advancement, the people I met, and the general atmosphere all seemed like the right fit for my first experience in the profession.”
Speaking of opportunities for advancement, Gary Voirol interned with MSKTD in 1982 and is now the president of the company.
