Internships pave way to success for Durham School student Austin Greene

Durham School senior Austin Greene was recently featured in Kiewit Corporation’s Kieways magazine in an article titled “Interns of Kiewit.” During his four years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering, Greene has worked a total of three summer internships and two part-time internships at Kiewit.

“All of my internships at Kiewit have provided exceptional learning opportunities but my favorite was a year-long project called Kiewit University, where they were building a new training headquarters for the company,” said Greene. “In this particular internship, I was able to manage a project close out process and also experience first-hand how a company’s corporate structure and environment greatly influence the way you build and where your place focus overall. These real-world opportunities have allowed me to work with owners and sub-contractors and helped me to identify how much I enjoy working with contracts and risk management.”

While enrolled in construction engineering at The Durham School, Greene was actively involved in the Association of General Contractors (AGC). He attributes his early and regular involvement in AGC in helping gain his many internships.

“There are so many industry professionals involved in helping Durham School students succeed. I was able get involved in the AGC national convention early on and realized that the construction industry offered so many avenues for success,” added Greene.

“My biggest advice to new students is to not be afraid to put yourself in uncomfortable situations early on,” said Greene. “I attended the Durham School career fair after having only been a college student for two months. I didn’t care if I was a freshman and was ok with someone telling me no. I applied for every single job opportunity there was that day and by October, I had landed my very first internship.”

Greene will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering in May 2018. Following graduation, he will be heading to Austin, Texas, where he will be working as a Project Engineer.

“After spending time in Texas a few years ago, I was hopeful that I’d be able to return one day. I’m grateful for all the opportunities that have been afforded to me over my years at the University and at The Durham School and I’m ready to see where this next chapter takes me.”