Charleston Intern Solidifies His Career Path

The following guest post was written by Mason, about his internship experience with us this summer.

After an amazing internship experience with Yellowstone Landscape last year, I knew I wanted to return for a second internship at the Charleston Branch. The family-like work environment and team atmosphere here greatly influenced my decision to come back for another summer!

After completing the rotational internship last year, I decided to focus on landscape installation (LI) this summer. Working solely in this department has greatly enhanced my knowledge of the commercial landscape construction industry. Everyone at the branch is willing to answer any questions I have or put me into contact with someone who knows the answer if they don’t. My Mentor, Cory Hendrix has done a great job of this as he is very knowledgeable and skilled at what he does.

I have been concentrating on a lot of hardscape projects so far including a 200-foot retaining wall and a 350-foot paver sidewalk. While I have spent much of my time completing these projects Cory has allowed me to experience other aspects of the management role, which includes creating PO’s, ordering and scheduling materials, managing crews, and setting the overall timeline of projects. This has given me greater insight of the work responsibilities of a Project Manager which is my career goal.

Being given the responsibility of a manager has come with challenges and successes. Preparing me for a career in Landscape Construction and building my skillset through more responsibility has outweighed any challenging situations I have faced. In the coming weeks I plan to learn as much as possible during the rest of my internship and apply these experiences and knowledge to a full-time position and career with Yellowstone Landscape once I complete my degree!