Middle School Student Explores Career Options at Our Columbia Office
Phillip Frames has known since he was 10 years old that he wants to work in construction. Recently, the eighth-grader got an up-close view of what his future career path might look like when he job shadowed Kenneth Givens, a project manager in our Columbia, South Carolina, office for the day.
The opportunity came about after Kenneth and Assistant Project Manager Joe Licher gave a presentation on careers in the construction industry at Phillip’s school. Following the presentation, the school’s guidance counselor asked if Phillip could spend a day job shadowing Associates at Miller-Valentine. Kenneth gladly accepted.
“I was pretty nervous,” Kenneth admitted. “I wanted it to be both fun and informative, so we found interactive ways for him to engage with real-world projects.”
Kenneth built the day’s agenda to work in as many aspects of the construction process as possible. The morning included a clash detection exercise using a digital 3D model of a Miller-Valentine project. Phillip also got to try his hand at takeoffs, which is the process of compiling the list of materials needed to construct a project. In learning how something as simple as the number of doors affect project costs, Phillip was exposed to the basic principles of project estimating.
Perhaps most exciting to the 14-year-old, though, were the parts that involved pizza. After reviewing the blueprints for the 67,000 square foot Domino’s processing facility that Miller-Valentine is constructing in West Columbia, Phillip had a chance to put on a hard hat and tour the job site. The day even involved pizza for lunch – in honor of both the project and National Pizza Day.
The job shadowing day was part of a coordinated community outreach effort by Miller-Valentine to educate young adults about the construction industry’s numerous career paths. Our recently launched MVGives program is designed to promote careers in construction.
“Many kids and young adults just aren’t aware of the advantages that the construction industry offers,” said Kenneth. “They aren’t aware of what they can make financially or how many paths are open to them by going to a trade school or college. They don’t know where that starting point is.”
“Getting involved at this level enables us to open doors that they didn’t even know existed,” Kenneth added. “In this sense, we aren’t just building a pipeline for future talent. We are also helping kids find a path to building dreams and shaping lives in their own communities—and that benefits everyone.”
Does your career path lead to Miller-Valentine Group? Contact Josh Welsh at 513.774.8400 today.
Pictured: Turner McCafferty, Phillip Frames, Kenneth Givens
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