Clint Hertzler is a sophomore at Missouri State University studying construction management. But he spent the summer in a very different role, field surveying.
This internship wasn’t Clint’s first rodeo with The Korte Company. Last winter, he was looking for a job shadowing opportunity for extra credit. He reached out to a family friend, Doug Flath, a field survey manager with The Korte Company.
“Doug has been a family friend since I was five, so I contacted him last winter and asked if I could shadow him,” Clint said. “After that, he said if I wanted to eventually get a job over the summer, I should keep in touch with him. So, I did, and he helped me get a job here.”
Although Clint considers project management his “end goal,” his internship has taught him a lot about a job he hadn’t learned in school.
“When I started, I didn’t know what surveying was all about,” he said. “Every day, I learn more and more about how it all works. I watch Doug do what he does and slowly store knowledge in my brain. I know in the future, I want to take a surveying class; I should get an A in that class after this summer. This internship has been a great way for me to get my foot in the door in the industry.”
At The Korte Company, we are proud to see students who are eager to enter the construction field. You’re never too young to get out there to learn and start building your future.
Although field surveying wasn’t Clint’s first internship choice, he has embraced the role. He’s come to appreciate the opportunities it offers, especially the chance to travel the country.
“I really like traveling,” he said. “That is one of the coolest perks of this internship. I really enjoyed traveling to Pensacola, Florida. They were expanding a cooling tower on the naval air base. When we were there, we marked out where they were excavating to put the foundation for the building. Everything we do is what they rely on to know where everything goes and where to dig at.”
Another highlight of Clint’s internship was putting his surveying skills to the test at a Knapheide jobsite in Quincy, Illinois. Clint stepped up while his boss was on vacation and handled all the field surveying responsibilities for a week.
“I was really surprised at first when they actually trusted me to do the field survey work all by myself,” he said. “I was nervous because I didn’t want to mess anything up, but while I was there, I laid out the whole north parking lot, utilities and a culvert going underneath the entrance. That was a pretty rewarding experience.”
He also worked in the warehouse for a week, learning about the job of a project engineer at the Hershey Plant in Robinson, Illinois.
“Although I have a field survey internship, I’ve gotten exposed to all kinds of roles here at The Korte Company,” he said. “I’ve gotten a wide scope of experience in several different fields, which I didn’t expect. But I’m really glad that I’ll go back to school knowing so much more than I did at the start of the summer.”
In years to come, Clint hopes to put his degree to use in a project management internship where he can explore a different side of the construction industry.
