By Scott Cannon, executive vice president responsible for Skanska’s Georgia building operations

For most young people, summer is a time of rest and relaxation, but for many high school and college students, summer is a time to gain experience in fields of interest through summer jobs and internships. Internships in your field of study are both rewarding and essential to starting a career after graduation. Furthermore, internships allow students to develop their careers, learn about new opportunities and gain real world experience. Classroom environments are fantastic for discussion, debate, peer interaction, and shared learning experiences, but it’s important to have real life work experiences where one can apply the academic concepts learned college. 

While I was freshman in high school, my first job was with an organization called Foxfire. Foxfire was created in 1966 by an English teacher at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in Northeast Georgia who wanted to make education more interesting and immersive for students. Named for the glow-in-the-dark fungus found in the local hills, Foxfire created a magazine, featuring stories gathered from and about the Appalachia community in Northeast Georgia as well as traditions still thriving in the region. 

While active with the organization, I had several incredible opportunities which helped to shape my world view:

• I met with and interviewed Major League Baseball player Johnny Mize, who grew up in rural Georgia. Through my conversations with him, and others in Appalachia, my eyes were opened to the world and taught me how our past contributes to who we are and what we can become and how resilience is a critical component of success in day to day life. 

• I also had the opportunity to travel to Australia for a month to introduce and implement the Foxfire method. Not only was this my first time on a plane, but my first time traveling outside of the United States. One of the highlights was a four day trip I took to the bush with some Aborigine friends I had made and their families. They were generous to share their lives, traditions and Australian beer with me. To say that it was life changing and that my horizons were expanded are an understatement. I was only able to have these incredible experiences because of my Foxfire job.

After my freshman year at Georgia Tech, I landed an internship with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). I was a civil engineering major and hired to work with a heavy transportation team refurbishing and building bridges and damns around Unicoi Lake and State Park for the 1996 Olympics. When I entered the internship, I was not sure what aspect of civil engineering I wanted to pursue, but through this experience, I decided heavy transportation was not where I wanted to be long term.

During a Thanksgiving dinner conversation with family friends, I was introduced to and interviewed with Beers Construction (owned by Skanska) the summer before my senior year of college. I interned with the company for 1.5 years working on the construction side. I loved what I was doing, learned more than I could have expected and was offered a job upon my graduation. I have been working with Skanska ever since.

From these experiences, I have seen first-hand the value of summer jobs and internships and share three critical outcomes that make on-site work experiences invaluable and necessary before starting your career. They include:  

• Real Life Experience – During an internship, classroom concepts suddenly become actual tools of the trade as you interact and learn in a professional setting. These experiences are formal, formative, and foundational to your career. Developing your knowledge of workplace collaboration, business etiquette, and strong communication tactics are among the vital “soft skills” that can only be learned while on the job. Internships in your area of study can also build your résumé and teach you instrumental, career-developing qualities.

• Character Growth – Internships teach us a lot about ourselves and how to be a worker among workers. To succeed you need to treat people the way you want to be treated, exercise self-motivation, act with integrity and maturity, and be honest. Being on time – or early – and staying until the work is done, can show your willingness to be a strong team member. These professional skills are a vital part of personal and professional growth that ultimately help you get noticed within an organization. 

• Door to Opportunity – Internships are invaluable opportunities not to be squandered. As noted, you can learn new skills, put what you have learned in the classroom to use and explore careers. Most importantly, internships open doors to a future career.