For nearly a decade, NEWB has completely redefined PEs’ and Sr. PEs’ idea of a hard day’s work by pulling them far from the comforts of the office and throwing them into the grind of the field.

The five-day crash course in all things Webcor Craft includes daily lessons and demonstrations with our concrete, drywall, and carpentry experts; insightful lunchtime discussions with Webcor executives; and team collaboration like they’ve never experienced before.

Each year, NEWBs are expected to build their assigned structure/s with their teammates by the end-of-week deadline. The field exposure is priceless—and humbling. Aside from instilling a level of appreciation for craft professionals that can only be understood through firsthand experience, NEWB gives participants a chance to see how their work (and mistakes) in the office influences what plays out in the field.

“It’s a very eye-opening experience,” says Project Engineer Yessica Mares Barriga, who went through NEWB this year. “As PEs, it’s difficult for us to understand just how much work goes into building something. It’s a great chance to actually be ‘bags-on’ and work outside instead of behind a screen writing RFIs and submitting submittals.”

Planning NEWB’s 2025 Program

This year’s NEWB leaders were Parker Jones and Jordan Davis, two SPEs who completed the program last summer at UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital’s prefabrication yard.

The prefab yard setting left little opportunity for permanent in-place work—something Jordan and Parker were determined to incorporate in this year’s program. Fortunately, this year's location offered plenty of flexibility for NEWB’s leaders and mentors to plan activities that would immerse participants in hands-on building while leaving behind something beneficial for the project:

Monday: Layout, Formwork, & Concrete Pad Pours with Curbs

Tuesday: Layout & Framing

Wednesday: Drywall

Thursday: Doors, Frames, Hardware, & Curb Chipping

Friday: Picnic Tables

There’s no doubt that the mornings were about working hard, typically starting with a team huddle at 6 a.m. before transitioning to the day’s workload. But the evenings were about playing hard.

As any NEWB graduate will tell you, you don’t just end the week with hands-on field exposure, a heightened appreciation for craft professionals, and a new perspective on the impact of your work in the office; you also leave with friendships. Few experiences bond Webcor PEs and Sr. PEs quite like the universal exhaustion, confusion, frustration, and massive learning curve inherent in NEWB.

“Jordan, the NEWB mentors, and I all felt that the relationships we built during our NEWB weeks were the most meaningful takeaway,” Parker says. “With that in mind, we made sure this year’s program balanced challenging, rewarding work with space for after-work activities so NEWBs could spend time together outside of work.” “Jordan and I hope the NEWBs walked away with a greater appreciation for the craft and skill behind trade work, as well as real connections with their PE class. Most importantly, we hope they had fun.”

Most kids grow up loving Disneyland because—let’s face it—it’s endlessly entertaining. But as a kid, PE Intern Christian Avendano didn’t love Disneyland for its adrenaline-pumping rides or abundance of fictional lands. Above all else, he loved the way it made people feel.

“I've always wanted to create a place that makes people feel happy and safe,” he says. “When I was a kid, my dream was to become an Imagineer (the designers, engineers, and builders of Disney’s theme parks) and create places that people would enjoy and look forward to returning in the future.”

As he got older, he realized construction would combine his desire to positively impact people’s lives with his lifelong fascination with how things are built—a perfect career path. Today, he’s a civil engineering major at CSU Northridge (CSUN) hoping to one day build spaces that drive community growth and professional innovation while feeling like a second home to its occupants. And he’s not afraid of the work it’ll take to get there.

Last year, Christian was the project manager of CSUN’s American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Timber-Strong Design-Build, an annual competition that tasks student teams with designing and building an “artistically creative two-story wood light-framed building that is sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, and structurally durable.”

It was the largest, most collaborative and complicated project he’d ever worked on—and by far the most rewarding.

“I enjoy construction and planning the future of any project, but the complexity of large projects draws me in because it gives me a new challenge to overcome and learn from with my teammates,” he says. “I learned first-hand that you need to work as a team to develop the best approach. Working with others always keeps me inspired because we’re figuring it out together.”

Now that he’s a PE intern at the LAX Wayfinding Enhancement Project (WEP), the value of teammates’ perspectives and insights has become clearer than ever—especially when it comes to potential flaws in his process. Already, these last three weeks at LAX WEP have taught him the value of keeping an open mind and thoughtfully absorbing others’ ideas, thoughts, and suggestions.

Over the next couple months, he looks forward to supporting construction experts in the field and taking care of anything and everything his project managers throw his way, including mapping out areas in LAX, surveying different locations along the terminals, and creating documents for LAWA officials.

“This is my first internship, so I’m excited to finally get some hands-on experience and really start envisioning my career,” he says. “This is an amazing opportunity to learn while contributing to a major LA aviation project in a meaningful way.”

Working in an airport setting has given Christian a unique appreciation for the expert design and engineering that’s gone into delivering LAX. His first week, he took a guided tour of the project that gave him the chance to soak in all the details he’d overlooked for years as an LAX traveler. “I loved walking the terminals and viewing all the art while surveying the area,” he says.

Next fall, he’ll return to CSUN as the 2025—2026 president of ASCE’s CSUN student chapter. The expectations will be high, but he knows he’s ready. And once he’s completed his internship at LAX WEP, he’ll be more prepared to lead the CSUN chapter than ever before.

Until then, however, he’ll be keeping busy at LAX WEP on weekdays and enjoying Disneyland trips, swim days at the beach, video games, and exploring the outdoors on weekends:

“I love hiking up different mountains and exploring scenic areas throughout California with my CSUN friends!”

Since childhood, Project Engineer (PE) Intern Synthia Kotamraju has dreamed of bringing creative, ambitious ideas to life through engineering.

“Growing up, I moved around quite a bit because of my dad’s job,” she says. “It allowed me to experience incredible cities like Seoul and Dubai, where I fell in love with the architecture and infrastructure. Even as a kid, I remember looking at those towering buildings and thinking, ‘I want to learn how to make that happen.’”

Her fascination with the building process reached a turning point in high school, when she visited an active construction site for the first time. As she toured the project and observed the strategy and coordination required to deliver a physical structure, “everything clicked,” she recalls. She knew she was meant to be a civil engineer.

After graduating high school, she began her civil engineering studies at Mahindra University in Hyderabad, India while seeking out internship opportunities. Over the next four years, she balanced her undergraduate studies with internships at a residential construction company, where she supported green roofing and solar panel setups, and a thermal power plant, where she worked on technical drawings and material testing.

“My internships taught me how important it is to ensure projects run smoothly while remaining cost-effective and sustainable,” she says. “I’ve loved learning about the process of building, solving problems, collaborating with teams, and watching things take shape. It’s so rewarding to see something that started on paper turn into a real structure, especially when it’s something that benefits the community.”

Eager to expand her industry knowledge, she began applying to master’s programs focused on bridging the gap between design and construction in 2023. After completing her bachelor’s, she packed her bags and flew nearly 9,000 miles to pursue her master’s in building construction and facility management at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).

“With this degree, I’ll be able to use my engineering skills to solve real-world problems and improve the way buildings are built and maintained,” Synthia says. “I’m especially interested in sustainable and efficient building practices because they support a better future for us all.”

Last fall, she attended the Georgia Tech Career Fair in hopes of securing her next internship. As she walked through the seemingly endless rows of company booths, one in particular caught her eye—Webcor, a company she’d discovered weeks earlier when researching major U.S. construction projects.

She walked right up to Webcor’s booth and introduced herself to Assistant Project Manager James Bicamumpaka, Outreach and Partnerships Manager Sharla Sullivan, and HR Specialist Dante Robinson, who were there for The Collective’s (Webcor’s Black employee resource group) annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) recruiting trip.

Talking to James, Sharla, and Dante immediately put Synthia at ease. “They were so kind when sharing details about Webcor’s projects, approach, and culture,” she says. “The way they described the internship opportunity felt like more than just a job—it seemed like a space where I would learn, grow, and be heard. The supportive and inclusive environment they described excited me to become part of it.”

A few weeks later, she interviewed for a spot in Webcor’s summer internship program, resulting in an offer in early January. On May 5, she officially joined the Reno ConRAC team as a PE intern supporting coordination, documentation, and site walks.

Nearly a month into her time at ConRAC, Synthia’s favorite moment is still the first time she stepped foot on the project site.

“When I saw how the different trades were working together, everything I’d studied in class suddenly felt real,” she says. “It’s an experience from this internship that I’ll never forget.”

This summer, she’s excited to continue immersing herself in the field and learning the in’s and out’s of delivering a project on a tight timeline through hands-on work. She also hopes to gain deeper insights into the strategic thinking that drives project decisions and of course, connect with her teammates and learn about their experiences.

Although her internship’s just getting started, she’s already realized the value of actively listening, asking thoughtful questions, and paying close attention to others’ communication styles and problem-solving methods.

“Being curious and open to guidance has helped me absorb everything and grow in this new environment,” she says. “My primary goals this summer are to deepen my understanding of construction project management, strengthen my ability to handle field challenges, and grow more confident in my decision-making abilities as a future project leader.”

Outside of her internship and schoolwork, Synthia loves skating, painting, traveling, and exploring new culture and cuisines. She’s also enjoying her first time in Reno and frequents Lake Tahoe as often as she can.

“I’ve already visited Tahoe three times since moving here,” she says. “It’s that stunning! Every visit has felt like a reset. It’s made this whole experience feel even more special. Thank you to the Webcor team for being so welcoming—it’s really helped me settle in and feel at home.”