Bryan Flores has always been fascinated by construction. His curiosity for how and why things are built led him to discover construction management at Colorado State University and eventually intern with the construction company Swinerton.
A senior construction management major, Flores chose CSU because the construction management program is well respected in the industry.
“I knew that the opportunities that the program offered regarding job placement could not be found anywhere else,” said Flores. “Choosing CSU has been one of my best decisions I have made.”
Choosing construction management
Flores initially wanted to attend the University of Colorado Boulder to pursue a degree in business. But as time went on, he realized his passion was in construction management. After working for an insulation contractor, Flores learned about the professional field.
He was introduced to Swinerton while working with his dad on a construction project the summer before attending CSU. Once school started, Flores met operations manager John Spight at a construction management social event and told him about his experience working for Swinerton. Spight told Flores to stop by the Swinerton table at the career fair, where Flores was invited to an employee dinner. He was interviewed shortly afterwards.
A day on the job
Flores is working as a project engineer intern for the Block 162 Project in downtown Denver.
“Every day is a different day on the jobsite,” said Flores. “Not one day is the same, and that is something that really excites me about my internship. I really enjoy working together with a group of talented individuals here at Swinerton.”
Flores’ day starts off by printing a time report sheet with the project’s cost codes—groups of costs meant to organize amounts, quantities, or budgets—and walks with the foreman around the building site, checking to see if all sites are on schedule and collect their production rates from the day before. If production is not being met, Flores asks why and helps them come up with ideas on how to improve. Once this collection of data is done, he assigns a percentage of completion to the phase code. Flores is also responsible for ordering materials and equipment for those in the field, doing material inventory, and making sure that time is being charged correctly during the phases of construction.
“Being able to leave a mark on my community has been extremely gratifying,” said Flores. “There’s something about driving by a completed project that I know I was able to contribute to that gives me a huge sense of pride.”
Flores says his internship experience has also been influenced by COVID-19. Some plans were canceled due to the virus outbreak. Swinerton typically hosts several events for their interns to meet, network, and get to know each other. Due to health protocols implemented to lower capacity and limit exposure between people, the intern events were canceled, including the interns’ paintball game.
Future plans
Flores will be graduating from CSU in the spring of 2021 and he intends to continue working for a general contractor. His plan is to continue working for Swinerton post-graduation.
The Department of Construction Management is a part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.