Penn’s Justin Moore As Sustainable Architecture Intern In Vietnam
ABROADER February 16, 2022 3 minute read
My name is Justin Moore and I interned at Van Aelst Nguyen & Partners for 8 weeks during the summer of 2021.
I am a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Architecture with a minor in Environmental Studies. I was fortunate enough to have this opportunity through Penn Abroad’s Global Research & Internship Program (GRIP). Although I participated virtually from America given the complications of the pandemic, I still had an amazing experience.
Throughout my internship, I worked on several projects which each utilized different skills. For example, on a villa project, I converted sketches into AutoCAD. Another time, I was able to use my own creative skills to propose a layout for a corner room in a hotel project. Additionally, I generated sustainability initiatives for an office building and expressed my proposal in an image that I created in Adobe Illustrator. These were three of many projects I had the opportunity to work on, and as you can see, they were each unique. These projects challenged me in different ways and pushed me to reach limits I never thought I could.
During my 8 weeks, I worked closely with Steve (the architecture director) and three other employees: Vi, Ngoc, and Thien. We would meet regularly via Zoom to discuss progress and steps for moving forward. I valued our meetings as they facilitated collaboration and also served as a time to check-in with the team. What I appreciated most is that I was treated like every other employee: my ideas were respected, and I was doing meaningful work that was helping the company. I didn’t feel like an intern at the bottom of a pyramid as you might find elsewhere.
Some architecture projects that Justin worked on
I learned a great deal from this internship. It was exciting to see the creative process, collaboration, client feedback, and experience the field in a professional setting. Van Aelst Nguyen & Partners helped solidify my interest architecture. I will take all of the knowledge I gained from this internship during the rest of my education and path in architecture. Special thank you to Steve and everyone I worked with this summer for making me feel welcome.
Final meeting with Steve, the supervisor from the host company
What is else apart from the internship?
Apart from the work, I really enjoy the cultural sessions. It was awkward in the beginning because I knew no one and was a bit shy with a big group but the team was very welcoming and friendly. I am surprised that I learned a lot about Vietnam from the sessions and was able to make real friends from an online program! I will definitely make plans to visit Ho Chi Minh city to say hi to my host companies and eat all the street food with the local buddies.
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