At Entuitive, we have a great team of creative, collaborative, and advanced people, and that includes our talented co-op students. In this post by Carter Hamelin, Junior Designer, we hear about which projects he worked on and what he learned this summer in our Vancouver office. If you haven’t checked out our other co-op diaries yet, read Sustainable  Buildings Specialist Jasmine Gill’s co-op diary here.

Being a co-op student for the first time can be challenging. Leading up to my first day, I was nervous about many things. Would I be up to the tasks given to me? Would my coworkers be friendly? Would I enjoy the work I was doing? 

Thankfully, the answer to every question was a resounding yes. 

All of my new colleagues were extremely welcoming. Not only were they proactive in introducing themselves to me and taking an interest in where I was from, but they were also willing to help me learn right from the start. Specifically, Tyler Donovan, reached out and took me on multiple site visits in my first few weeks to help me gain some much-needed experience. Tyler is a great example but everyone was always willing to come over to my desk and answer any questions I may have on any given project. 

Vancouver team listening to Designer/Computational Design Specialist Madison Alexander’s presentation on computational design. Photo Credit: Kitty Leung

About a month into my tenure at Entuitive, I was asked by Hannah To to work on a quantity take down for the Helios project in Calgary. If I had to pick the project that I most enjoyed being part of this summer, this would be it. I did plenty of quantity take downs for school projects over this past year at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), so being able to apply my prior knowledge of something to a real-life project was satisfying. Also, this project was basically all Excel work, which I am a big fan of! Throughout my term, I’ve enjoyed smaller day-to-day tasks as well such as reviewing drafting work, making Excel cheat sheets for things such as parking bylaws, or just helping around the office whenever someone needs an extra set of hands. 

The biggest takeaway from this summer would be just how crucial collaboration is in an office. Every day while at my desk, I would see my coworkers constantly talking about projects, asking each other for advice on problems, and putting their heads together to come up with new ideas. This kind of community within the office is the key to not only a successful company, but an enjoyable one as well. 

As for my message to any future Entuitive co-op students: always be willing to lend a hand. Being a coworker that everyone can depend on is the best way to prove yourself in the short time you’re here. 

Carter enjoying a fun Friday with fellow Junior Designer Co-op student Samson Chau and Structural Designer Tyler Donovan. Photo Credit: Kitty Leung

Thank you to everyone that I worked with/ talked to throughout my three months at Entuitive! You made my summer very enjoyable.