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Students Jumpstart Building Careers With NAHB Internship
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Marlone Walter, of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, is one of two students interning with NAHB, the NAHB Reserch Center and a Washington, D.C.-area builder this summer as part of the NAHB Residential Construction Leadership/Internship Program. |
 Two students attending Homebuilding Education Leadership Program (HELP)-funded universities will be interning this summer with NAHB, the NAHB Research Center and a Washington, D.C.-area builder or developer through the NAHB Residential Construction Leadership/Internship Program funded by the National Housing Endowment.
During the eight-week program, while interning at NAHB the students will learn about legal, legislative and regulatory issues that affect the building industry. At the Research Center, they will learn about building products and management best practices. The students will also intern for five weeks with a builder or developer.
The internship program, now in its second year, was developed as an adjunct to the endowment’s HELP program, which bolsters college and university residential construction management programs around the country.
“Our goal is to encourage more outstanding students to choose the residential construction industry for their career,” said David Jaffe, internship program coordinator and NAHB staff vice president of construction liabilities and legal research.
“This internship will supplement and enhance the students’ classroom experience by giving them practical field experience and an understanding of NAHB’s contribution to the housing industry and help them develop the skills they will need for a rewarding career in home building,” he said.
The students interning at NAHB this summer are Alex Beckman, a senior majoring in construction management at Colorado State University, and Marlone Walter, a senior pursing a double major in architecture and construction at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas.
Beckman, vice president of his NAHB Student Chapter at Colorado State and a varsity athlete, wants to become a custom home builder and has spent several summers working with custom builders before beginning his internship at NAHB. He said he “looks forward to simply being in the industry and learning from experienced professionals who can provide me with the knowledge to become an excellent superintendent/project manager and eventual owner.”
Walter said he has been fascinated with home building since he was a child and dreams of “building homes that are green and affordable so they will provide the structural, emotional and economical stability that families need.”
“When these students go home at the end of the summer they’ll have a much better understanding of the role of NAHB and its state and local affiliates, and they’ll have a better sense of the issues that are shaping our industry,” said Robert Pflieger, NAHB senior staff vice president for public affairs.
For more information on the HELP grant initiative or the National Housing Endowment, visit www.nationalhousingendowment.org.
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