Kicking Off the 2022 Summer Student Cohort
We are excited to welcome our 2022 summer student cohort to Cuningham!
Over the next 10 weeks, 16 students from around the country will be joining the firm to gain firsthand, professional design experience. Students will be located in each of the firm’s six offices and will receive one-on-one mentorship from members of the Cuningham team in addition to guidance from leadership within their project teams.
“Nurturing tomorrow's designers is incredibly important to us,” Director of Strategy Jeff Mandyck says. “The core goal of our cohort program is to truly embed students in the design process; seeking enduring experiences that create change.”
Throughout the summer, students will work with the firm’s project teams on everything from developing technical skills, to exploring the beauty of regenerative design in delivering results to our clients. Students will also work with their mentors to develop personalized goals to achieve throughout the program.
“We want students to be able to think critically and take ownership of creating their success,” Board Chair Meg Parsons says. “That is why individual mentorships and exposure to the design industry are central to the intern student experience at Cuningham. We want students to leave not only with an understanding of the day-to-day work of a designer, but with an understanding of their path to licensure or certification and a holistic understanding of the business of design.”
At the conclusion of the summer, students will collectively present their experience with the firm, including what they learned and recommendations for improving for the following year’s cohort.
Meet the cohort below and hear a little about what they are most looking forward to this summer!
Amari Zhang
Culver City | Heal | Architecture
University of Southern CA
"Regenerative design is something I want to push myself to learn more about because not only does it include sustainability but it also covers how design should be inclusive and encouraging towards general well-being."
Kristen Alyssa Ayap
Culver City | Play | Architecture
Cal Poly - Pomona
"I hope to learn more about sustainable/regenerative strategies, especially passive design and material integration. Moreover, I hope to be more involved with schematic design to better understand design decisions in regard to inclusivity, community, and user and environmental response."
Cher Pombuena
Las Vegas | Play | Interior Design
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
"I would like to be able to gain experience in working with a team and learn ways to approach design tasks efficiently within a professional setting."
Sydney Ly
Las Vegas | Play | Interior Design
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
"I would like to engage in more collaborative work and improve my presentation skills. I would also like to learn more about regenerative design."
Emerald Man
San Diego | Heal | Architecture
Syracuse University
"I would like to explore more on the role of environment plays in either assisting or hindering positive mental health. How can we design and construction to build environments that convey a feeling of comfort and security and how would this related to sustainable and regenerative design?"
Jordan Howard
San Diego | Regenerative Design | Architecture
Columbia University
"I am eager to learn skills in assessing building performance and developing plans for adaptive reuse in order to increase sustainability. I want to absorb as much information as I can regarding each step of the design process from initial proposals to finalized drawings, even just by speaking to others in the office and seeing what they are working on."
Tyron Alford - NOMA Fellow
San Diego | Work | Architecture
North Carolina State University
"Through this program, I would like to gain as much as I possibly can! I would love to experience Cuningham's design process of regenerative design within both built and natural environments. As the newly appointed President of NOMAS at NCSU, I want to be able to apply what I learn at this internship to my third-year studio assignments, meetings with the NOMAS E-board, and events with the architecture student body. I am excited to have a hands-on experience that will expose me to all that architecture and design has to offer."
Ryan Self
Denver | Grow | Architecture
Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
"I am excited to absorb as much professional knowledge as I can through this internship. I aspire to better myself as an architectural designer and project team member as well as ensuring my interventions create a net positive effect for the community it inhabits."
Keely Perkins
Denver | Live | Interior Design
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
"I am fascinated about regenerative design and how to make interiors more sustainable. I plan on becoming LEED certified and want to learn about building performance and the technical aspects that go into designing more efficient interior environments. I think learning about the legal side of design and the strategy of the business of design to be important. I am excited to experience how a firm is operated!"
Tristan Trejo
Denver | Live | Architecture
University of Minnesota
"I would love to learn more about Project Management, Regenerative and Sustainable design & practices, enhance and strengthen my BIM skills, and become an all-around better designer."
Rebeca Rivera
Phoenix | Heal | Architecture
Arizona State University
"I hope to learn about regenerative design and team collaboration throughout projects. I hope to develop the skills necessary to become a leader in this field and I hope to increase my knowledge of programs which are new to me such as Revit. I'm also looking forward to experiencing the real world of architecture - meeting with clients, professionals, visiting construction sites, etc."
Emma Grabowski
Minneapolis | Work | Interior Design
University of Minnesota
"I am looking forward to learning more about and experiencing the innerworkings of a large design firm. I would like to learn more about the different roles of interior designers, and others, on a project and how all the different designers collaborate throughout the design process. I am also hoping to gain a better understanding of how the client is involved in the design process and getting to see that relationship in the context of real-world projects."
Christopher Leberecht
Minneapolis | Grow | Landscape Architecture
University of Minnesota
"I'm interested in experiencing collaboration and communication with other disciplines. In terms of knowledge, I'm curious what the industry standard is for regenerative design and how Cuningham is pushing it forward."
John Jansen
Minneapolis | Play | Architecture
University of Minnesota
"I would like to learn more about the technical/professional side of architecture including BIM software and project management."
Halle Weinmann
Minneapolis | Grow | Interior Design
University of Wisconsin Stout
"Throughout this internship, I hope to gain more skills in BIM and computer software. I also hope to learn more about sustainable and regenerative design and how to incorporate that into projects. I would also like to improve my communication skills, learn new methods of making design decisions, and make meaningful connections."
Miles Michlitsch
Minneapolis | Grow | Architecture
University of Minnesota
"In this program I would like to gain experience working in a collaborative design practice, learning from established architects along with interior and landscape designers as well as engineers. I hope to gain more knowledge of the process and how a project progresses through different stages of the delivery method. I am also looking to improve my communication skills and learn more about how design teams interact, delegate work, and collaborate."