Blog #1 - Jalen Winburn

Blog #1 – Jalen Winburn

Hello all, I hope everyone is having great times at their internships!

In my first week at Confluence in Minneapolis, it was all about learning the systems and how things work here: file structure, licensing, AutoCAD standards, company structure, and how project timelines and budgets work. On my first day, I was able to introduce myself to everyone in the office and get settled onto my desk and computer. In our office there are only 10 of us, including myself and another intern who is also a 4th-year landscape architecture student but at the University of Minnesota. After the first week, and once I was settled in, I was able to start helping around the office for several projects. One thing that surprised me in my first few weeks here was how many projects we are working on at the same time. After my first month and a half, I have already worked on about 30 different projects ranging from amenity decks on rooftops for condos/apartments to city parks around the Minneapolis area. My favorite project I have worked on so far is the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library located in Medora, North Dakota. The project is almost complete, so I have mainly helped with construction documents for the green roof. In my time here so far, I mainly spend my time in AutoCAD and Sketchup while also using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign from time to time. Learning SketchUp has been awesome as I find it much better than Rhino. The modeling tools are simple and easy to use, and the 3D Warehouse and plugins allow for quick and efficient modeling. I also was introduced to Enscape and LandFX, which are both great add-ons. This week I did a flyover video in Enscape of an old golf course that we have converted to constructed wetlands and a park with an awesome playground, event lawn, pavilion, and pickleball courts. After rendering the video in Enscape, I then took it to Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, which I basically had to teach myself how to add labels and VFX to spice up the video for presenting to city council next week. I also have spent a lot of time doing construction documents, which I really enjoy doing. One of my favorite parts of work has been lunch and learns, which happen about once a week, where vendors either bring us lunch or take us out for lunch while they give us a pitch on their new and updated products. Unfortunately, I have not been on a site visit because there isn’t much construction in the winter here in Minnesota, but it was also -25 degrees last week. Once it warms up towards April, I will be going out to site visits often. So far, I have really enjoyed the work we do and really appreciate how Confluence has allowed me to step right into many projects in different phases.

Outside of work, I do not have a lot of time during the week. As I live at home (and save $$$), I commute to Minneapolis each day, which is, on average, an hour and a half drive to and from work Monday through Friday. This only gives me about three hours of time at home each night, which I use to go to the gym to make sure I stay active and in shape. I also have taken up some projects for family and friends that are looking for new landscaping options around their houses. I am currently working on a landscape design for a new house my parents are building this summer and will be sure to keep you all updated. During the weekends, you can find me hanging out with friends or ice fishing on the thousands of beautiful lakes scattered throughout the state. Recently, I went ice fishing on Red Lake in northern Minnesota, which is about an hour away from Canada. One thing I have struggled with as I am back home is the cold. I think my past three and a half years spent in Louisiana have diminished my tolerance for the cold. However, warmer days are ahead, and I am excited for it to be green here and start hitting the golf courses.

I will be sure to keep everyone updated with my day-to-day life and time at my internship in the coming weeks.