I started my career with Clark the summer of 2019 on the Portland Public Schools.
A close friend of mine, JB (far right) set me up with an interview and I was fortunate enough to be selected as an operations intern. I was very nervous when I discovered I was working with one of the owners of the company, and a highly knowledgeable superintendent, Paul Clark (far left). He immediately made me feel welcomed and assured me that I was in for a tough project; he was not kidding. My nervousness quickly transitioned to excitement after the first week when Paul introduced me to Tom Mata (middle left) and informed me that I would not be spending most of my time in the office, instead I would be Tom’s right-hand-man.
Tom Mata put me right to work doing multiple tasks. In the mornings, I would spend about two or three hours scanning in JSAs and Daily Reports, running stretch & flex, doing head counts in the field, tracking worker hours, creating & processing labor reports, updating 3-week schedules, updating drawings, and all things I anticipated for my internship. I had taken this internship opportunity to learn more about the managerial process of commercial construction, but it was only after I was hired in as a Project Engineer and working my own project at Central Michigan University that I realized Tom had taught me one of the most important lessons in construction, HUMILITY.
Tom taught me many other things as well: construction sequence, safety coordination & application, site logistics, and problem-solving stills. Tom had patience when I did not understand, he never made me feel like I was asking a stupid question, and he always treated me with respect even though I was the lowest man on the totem pole. I have many people to thank for the knowledge I’ve gained and success I have had in my life and career, but Tom taught me the one that I value the highest.
Portland Public Schools project opened on time because of the management skills taught by my team, leading me to where I am today.