Summer Intern Spotlight: Oryan Downey

In honor of National Intern Day (June 28), we want to highlight the talented and hardworking interns that joined the Clarkson team this summer. With five years of experience in residential construction under his belt, Oryan Downey, a 5th-year senior in Construction Management at Missouri State University, was ready to learn more about what it takes to work on large-scale projects. He was excited to learn that he would be assigned to the Buck O’Neil Bridge replacement project where he’s spent the last eight weeks supporting the project management team while watching the new bridge take shape.

“I feel like I’ve had a chance to do so much and, as a visual learner, the hands-on experience has been invaluable. School is great at providing the base knowledge, but being out here shows you how it’s actually done,” he said. “Everyone has been so helpful in explaining what’s going on at every step. Even the president of the company took time out of a team meeting to make sure that I understood the process.”

Oryan is looking forward to seeing the first river bridge girder set and, following his graduation this December, joining the construction industry full time.