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 Jasmine Gill, Sustainable Buildings Specialist, we hear about which projects she worked on and what she learned this summer in our Calgary office. Take it away, Jasmine!

I was quite nervous as I was getting ready to join Entuitive after only completing my first year of school at the University of British Columbia. I worried about what my summer was going to be like. Some things I feared were the learning curve, whether my ideas would be dismissed (something that stereotypically accompanies intern roles), and how to build relationships with my colleagues. 

The reality is that new people, new environments, and an unfamiliar corporate culture can be initially overwhelming, especially for the ‘little fish in a big pond’. But ever since my first day, I’ve been truly welcomed and valued for my contributions. I’ve been able to have conversations with people across the firm who always make time to share their knowledge despite their busy schedules. I quickly learned that at Entuitive, the physical distance doesn’t matter, as individuals across its five (at the time of writing, six now) offices are always building on each other’s experiences, sharing strengths, and new ideas to deliver an effective solution. I really felt the One Company culture. 

It was refreshing to see that even as a co-op student, I had the opportunity to make important contributions. I have been working to help Entuitive become B Corp certified, organizing and amalgamating firm-wide resources. I have also learned to perform carbon life cycle assessments (LCAs) of a building’s structure and envelope. This process helped me become familiar with building materials and structural design elements, which will be a valuable in my upcoming technical classes this fall.  

The Sustainable Performance Group also always pushed me to explore new challenges. I had the opportunity to jump on many diverse projects, such as becoming part of the Building Envelope team in Calgary, and partaking in discussions as part of Entuitive’s Gender Pillar (one of Entuitive’s four Inclusion, Diversity & Belonging employee resource groups). I was always encouraged to be curious and to pursue new experiences, including visiting construction sites for the first time where I gained exposure to different design phases. 

Screenshot from Jasmine and Elise Hewat’s internal Personal Carbon Footprint presentation.

I worked with many incredible people and can say amazing things about all of them. But I wanted to give a big shoutout to Lindsey Kindrat, Emily King, and Natasa Jeremic for their leadership during my time here. They made sure I always had the tools to go above and beyond in my job and always created an incredible learning environment. Every week, I especially looked forward to the 1:1 chats I had with Lindsey, where we both learned a lot! 

At Entuitive, your work is not just about the growth of the company, they also care about the personal growth of every employee as well. I truly valued my time learning from everyone at the firm, especially conversations at many of the Calgary office’s pizza parties and events like an office-wide Calgary Stampede Rodeo trip. The people at Entuitive are the embodiment of the workplace culture, creating an overall feel that is just generally happy. 

My advice to future co-op students is to invest in your relationships, as well as your learning. Everyone at the firm is very skilled and knowledgeable, and by taking the time to build relationships with others, you get the opportunity to learn about things that might not necessarily be found in a university textbook. I also recommend taking the time to ask questions when you are unsure about things. The learning curve is steep and by asking questions, you help yourself gain a greater understanding and prevent making mistakes. Not that making mistakes isn’t okay, it’s part of the learning process! 

My four months at Entuitive have flown past and I can honestly say that it was a pleasure to work here at Entuitive. It was an incredible learning experience, and the people here are awesome!