Time at CLH Design; Chloe Russell

 Blog one:                                                                                 

Work: 

Week one was really just a learning week for us. We started on a Tuesday because we work remotely on Mondays and Fridays. 

CLH is a landscape and civil engineering firm. We are a small firm of about 26 people split between three teams. Each team works on wide range of different projects. During the first week, I worked on converting surveys from contracted surveyors to the CLH format. We have a specific format for everything in CAD so when we get a survey in, it has to be converted into our format. I also got to practice some grading in the first week.

Week two was a fully remote week because we were snowed in. Being remote has been hard because it is easy to distracted, but it is nice to not have sit at the office desk all week. During this week, my work load was very light and I just worked on little things like CAD setups.

Week three became more interesting. We had a work lunch and learn session where we went to Leaf and Limb in Raleigh where we had lunch and learned about prairies and tree conservation. I also went on a site visit to Athens High School where we had to watch dismissal procedures to figure out the issues in the carpool lanes and bus lanes.

Site Visit to Athens High

Week four I started to work on some hand drafting. I was able to create a few sketches for a client before we started to start the design process. I also got started on rendering in photoshop.

Leaf and Limb Lunch and Learn

We have a broad range of projects ranging from schools to aquariums. I have been working on a few fire stations, a project at the Charlotte Airport, and some schools. I have sat through many meetings learning about how the design process works. I have been put in multiple different stages of projects in order to give me a better understanding of our field. CLH is a very warm and welcoming firm. Everyone here is so nice and caring. You can tell that everyone has a good heart and they are very knowledge about their fields. 

Sophie and I taking pics for CLH

Life:

Interning with Sophie has been amazing. Every weekend we try to go explore a new area of the Raleigh area.  One weekend we spent the day in Raleigh going to local shops and bookstores. We tried a few restaurants and spent some time at the North Carolina Art Museum which is definitely a must see.  The next weekend we spent time in Apex, North Carolina, where I live. We strolled along downtown and just spent time enjoying the day life. We also visited Chappell Hill where UNC is and visited more local shops to support local businesses. My fiancé also visited me since I've been here so I got to take him to some of my favorite spots.

View from my apartment

All of my time here hasn't been bright and shiny. In my second week of living here, I had to visit the ER and had to deal with kidney stones. Luckily, we worked remotely that week so I was able to still work regardless of me having some health issues. It has also been really hard being away from my friends and family. 

My time at the ER

North Carolina is a beautiful place and I am truly loving it here. CLH has taught me so much about the professional world and I am looking forward for my time here.