Before sophomore Honors College student Jesse Thompson came to Kent State in 2022 from Cincinnati, Ohio, he often watched HGTV with his father– a handy man around the house who was often building things. With that influence, Jesse decided to major in construction management.
He chose to complete his required internship last summer and had the opportunity to work for Meyers Brothers & Sons, a contractor in Millville, Ohio. The company specializes in residential custom design, build and remodel projects. Here, Jesse utilized his knowledge gained from his coursework, including the construction methods and materials course.
“There was stuff in my classes I had last year that I remember learning about, hearing, but don't really understand what it is fully,” he said. “To be out on the job, I kind of hear this stuff pop up and… put together what it actually is.”
While learning new things all throughout his experience, he worked on various projects with the company and had responsibilities of framing, building and demolishing.
While he sometimes worked on the demolition of houses, he favored and thoroughly enjoyed working on one framing project in particular. The project began in May 2023 and was focused on transforming an old train station into the company’s new office building, Jesse said.
While working on the new office, Jesse got to experience a solo task on the job, which took about a day to complete.
“They left me to frame a wall by myself… [I] figured out by myself, and then [used] some of the knowledge I've learned from being around the other guys,” he said.
The office project is expected to be partially completed by February 2024, Jesse said.
Jesse’s learning experience during his internship taught him many lessons, such as how to raise his self esteem and to maintain confidence in his work.
“Sometimes I'd be a little nervous about messing something up,” he said. “They learned to trust me more, so I need to be confident in myself that I was doing stuff right, and I can do it on my own.”
The Honors College student said his favorite part of his internship was making new connections.
“They made work fun,” he said. “I know that I made close connections and that if I ever needed anything from them in the future I could reach out to them.”
Jesse’s participation with the Construction Management Student Organization (CMSO) provided him the opportunity to attend a trip to Bristol, Tennessee for a house-building project competition with the Appalachia Service Project Race to Build. The organization builds and gives homes to those in need of shelter.
For Jesse’s competition, his group had to build a home in three days.
“The experience made me feel good about myself because we were doing something good for families in need,” he said. “There, we got to experience just how quickly we were able to build it.”
He also went on a trip recently to Chicago to participate in a separate competition. The construction management major was “locked in his hotel room” estimating a project and analyzing the safety plans among a team of four peers.
Allocating his extensive experience, Jesse is looking forward to completing another internship next summer to expand on his knowledge as a project engineer.
Aside from being a member of the CMSO, Jesse enjoys working out and golfing with friends and family in his free time. He also recently joined the Club Baseball Team as a catcher.
After graduating, Jesse hopes to utilize his internship, coursework and experiences to become a project manager.
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PHOTO CAPTION 1: Honors College student Jesse Thompson (third from right) with the Construction Management Student Organization participating in the Appalachia Service Project Race to Build.
PHOTO CAPTION 2: Jesse smiles for a headshot.
PHOTO CAPTION 3: Jesse (third from right) with his peers in front of the house they built holding the 3rd place reward.
Media Contact: Stephanie Moskal, smoskal@kent.edu, 330-672-2312