internships

Stepping into the World of Construction & Meeting an Auditor

July 10, 2024 by PCSD

Who did you meet with today?

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting with Henry Escobar, who is a construction manager at Bernards, and Lili Huang, who is the Business Assurance Principal at CLA.

Where do they work? What does the company do?

Bernards is a commercial builder and construction management company that provides technical expertise and construction services to developers (e.g. PCSD), corporations, educational institutions (e.g. Bright Star Schools), and public agencies (e.g. LAUSD). CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) is a firm that offers industry-focused wealth advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax, and consulting services with the goal of creating possibilities for private businesses, public enterprises, nonprofit organizations, and the individuals who own and run them.

What did you learn today? What were some highlights?

One of the things I learned from Henry today was that Civil Engineering is the best type of engineering (LOL). But, most importantly I learned the construction process of a school by touring Rise Kohyang High School with Henry and Gilbert Tercero, Project Manager, PCSD. Along with learning about built-up roofing, I also learned about the expansion of materials when not exposed to a constant temperature.

By talking with Lili I was able to learn about the firm she works with and the impact they strive to make with their clients. Learning about the firm’s diversity, equity, Inclusion, and belonging initiative was also really inspiring.

Some of the highlights of the day included visiting a construction site and being able to witness the planning and effort that is being made to complete the school first hand. Speaking with Lili and getting to hear about her experiences was also another highlight since she was really empowering and inspiring.

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?

One of the key insights I gained was a deeper understanding of the development process. I realized that developing a school can present a number of problems and challenges, and that numerous people, including the project managers, contractor, architects, and engineers , must work together to find a solution. This frequently requires compromise or a mutual agreement about the building’s structural vs. design elements. Additionally, completing a project in real estate requires a team of people. An auditor such as Lili is essential to the completion of a project, just as bankers, engineers, lawyers and contractors are. For example, I also learned that electricity is crucial for the operation of a school since it is required not only for the building to function but also for the students and staff. As a result, several engineers and contractors must collaborate to ensure that the project is managed properly.

Did you become more interested in the field after today?

I definitely became more interested in real estate development than ever before! I would also add that my interest in civil engineering and real estate development has grown as a result of learning about the planning, teamwork, and of the entire process involved in construction. Speaking with some of the contractors and project managers was also an excellent way to gain exposure, insights, and learn about the various aspects of real estate development. Furthermore, I had no idea that a business like CLA ever existed, therefore I found it really fascinating to hear from Lili about the various growth prospects and opportunities offered by a company like CLA.

Looking at the new floor being placed in the gym

Pursuing Law and Engineering in Real Estate

July 3, 2024 by PCSD

Who did you meet with today?

Today, my fellow interns and I got the opportunity to speak with Mera Baker Ramos, an in-house lawyer for Pacific Charter School Development (PCSD). Later that same day we got the chance to speak to Gilbert Tercero, one of the many project managers working at PCSD.

Where do they work? What does the company do?

Both Mera and Gilbert work for Pacific Charter School Development (PCSD), a non-profit focused on real estate. The organization works tirelessly to achieve their goal of building facilities for charter schools who are under-resourced. From organizing the finances for the construction to finding locations for the facilities, PCSD looks to make the process of building a school more welcoming and simple for charter schools in order to promote access to high-quality education in our community.

What did you learn today? What were some highlights?

From speaking with both Mera and Gilbert, I learned about how law and planning go into real estate. I got to hear about Mera’s journey and how she came to work for PCSD. Also, I got to get her perspective on how difficult it is to study law and the work it requires. On the other hand, I learned from Gilbert that it is good to be well connected in college to secure a job through internships. Also, I gained more of an understanding about the work of a civil engineer and the work they do to make sure a property is set to start construction.

Some highlights from our conversations were hearing about Mera’s experience in criminal justice and Gilbert’s work on the Sofi Stadium and Intuit Dome. I got a good understanding about how there are many different types of law that someone can study depending on what you like most. Also, I got to hear about the work and process put into constructing a large project, with the challenges of flooding and traffic.

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?

One of the many insights I gained into the field of real estate development was the importance of law in being able to get multiple entities to agree on a project. The attorney on one side writes up a document representing their interests and needs on a project, then it gets sent back and forth between all parties until they all agree. But, the process is more difficult than this as both sides have redlines.

Redlines represent the editing of one side to better suit their needs in a contract as they won’t always agree, this is when the negotiations happen.

This showed me how real estate can become more complicated as many people disagree with each other in the process of writing a legal document that can affect their position in a project. So having someone who understands law is important as you want to make sure that you are being treated fair in any legal situation.

Did you become more interested in the field after today?

After today, I have become more interested in real estate, specifically in law and its many different sub categories that are all important. I have become more interested in the law side of real estate because I liked that you are able to justify your intentions and come to a reasonable compromise between many people legally. Furthermore, I think real estate is a field that I can see myself in as it has many career paths that are all some I like. Also, I think that it is very interesting how all the different careers come together to be able to effectively develop a property.

Exploring the World of Real Estate Development with PCSD

July 2, 2024 by PCSD

Who did you meet with today?

Today, I had the opportunity to meet with Joe Wilson, who is a Project Director, and Scott Thomas, who is the project finance coordinator here at PCSD.

Where do they work? What does the company do?

Pacific Charter School Development is a nonprofit real estate development organization, with a goal of assisting schools on their journey to being a charter school by helping them with anything related to real estate, like finding a permanent facility. PCSD fundamentally builds charter schools from scratch, which means that the organization has many different areas that build up the final product, for example, scouting, finance, or the legal aspects.

What did you learn today? What were some highlights?

During my time with PCSD I learned about the process of how a school called Equitas was built. As well as how a project finance coordinator manages and deals with different circumstances when it comes to money, which was particularly fascinating because I learned a rich history about a school PCSD worked on and new finance terms.

Some of the highlights of the day included viewing before pictures of Equitas and seeing the complete transformation in person, which provided me with a deeper understanding and appreciation of how much planning and effort went into the project.

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?

One of the key insights I gained was understanding what a budget contingency is. A budget contingency is additional money that is used in case of unexpected costs during development, or in other words, kind of like emergency money in case we go over our budget. This showed me the importance of finance and budgeting because it ensures that a project could continue smoothly, even if unexpected circumstances occur.

I realized that real estate development involves ensuring that a location is suitable for what it is planned for, which in this case would be a school. This requires communication skills and knowledge because someone has to look at the environmental factors of the property, the utilities, location, infrastructure, legal issues and more.

Did you become more interested in the field after today?

After today’s experience, I found myself more intrigued by the field of real estate development because learning about most of the steps that go into planning and building beforehand is interesting. Additionally, seeing the complete transformation of a school that used to be an armored car facility was awesome to see! The exposure has definitely increased my interest in pursuing a career in real estate development.

The team gathered by the playground at EQ 5/6

Finance Connected to Real Estate

November 30, 2023 by PCSD

Who did you meet with today?

Today I met with Eric Relos, Tina Lin, and Anna Olsen who are all connected in different levels of financing real estate.

Where do they work? What does the company do?

Anna and Tina work with PCSD, and Eric works for Capital Impact, which is an organization that helps the development of a project by financing loans.

What did you learn today? What were some highlights?

Today I learned about three different positions of real estate related to financing. The project manager supports architectural design and mapping, finding the problems and solving them. The finance director helps “translate” approvals or problems that may occur, and lenders, help support funding the project from the beginning and forward until the project has been completed.

As Anna, the Project Manager, completes a project or runs into a problem, she has to relay it to Tina, the Director of Finance, who supports Eric, a lender, by helping him understand the problems and ways to avoid or improve them.

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?

Something I took away from this is that it takes a long process to approve a project and its funding, anything can hinder the approval.

What did you find the most interesting about the field in the field after today?

Financing plays a huge role in developing, completing, and revising a project. If the budget was to ever be exceeded, then you must already have prepared at least the same amount of money you put down as a contingency.

Leadership Public School (LPS) Visit

November 14, 2023 by PCSD

Who did you meet with today?

Today I had the opportunity to meet Nick Robinette and Dave Thalman from Clark Sullivan, Sandra Lee from Lionakis, Anna Olsen from PCSD, and Christopher Harrell, Brent Daniels, and Chanthip Phongkhamsavath from Leadership Public Schools (LPS).

Where do they work?

In general, they all work for different firms but are working to construct a new structure for Leadership Public Schools (LPS). Currently, they are building an extra space to create more learning space for students in LPS; PCSD has managed the project to provide LPS the opportunity to build this space. Furthermore, I was able to see how much help they all contributed to this. Though Nick is a general contractor at Clark Sullivan, his background in design has helped further the modeling of the building, especially since there is a limited amount of space to work with. Sandra’s background in architecture at Lionakis has contributed a lot with the underground work. All these people have contributed a lot to this project in different ways.

What did you learn today? What were some highlights?

Today I was able to get to know the background that goes into building a project like the new LPS building; and how the architect and construction team come into play with this. I highlighted a lot of important factors that may be needed so that issues like the code requirements don’t become an issue later on. I learned that there is different software that go into planning a project that ultimately helps these plans become completed. When determining the time of completion for construction projects, scheduling software is especially helpful because it provides an estimated time using historical data. Among several other highlights, I discovered that when working with projects like building school-related properties electricity is especially important since it is highly necessary to students and staff. Electrical engineers are also a very important factor to managing projects that need a lot of electricity overall.

What insights did you gain?

Insights into this week’s visit are the small details that a school facility should have to make the facility a lot better for students. I highlighted the mention of sheer walls because compared to other buildings sheer walls are specifically designed to provide structural support and can help keep noise in one area. I also gained a lot of insight that isn’t really talked about when coming into the architect field. Sandra talked about her experience in the field and the process. I like that she mentioned so much about her school process, the test, and what the test/exams consist of and how far she has come and where she is now in being officially licensed.

What did you find the most interesting about the field after today?

By far I would say that getting to know the overall process that goes into constructing was really interesting, but coming back from certain setbacks was also interesting to know because it makes the experience more real, rather than just making it seem like everything is easy. I was also interested to learn how different as well as difficult it can be to construct and plan projects that have schools that are so connected like LPS and Castlemont.

Looking at the computerized plans for the site

The Array of Options for Being a Lawyer

November 6, 2023 by PCSD

Who did you meet with today?

Today I met with Mera Baker Ramos, a Real Estate lawyer at PCSD, and Sarah Kollman who is also a Real Estate lawyer, working with Young, Minney, & Corr (YMC).

Where do they work? What does the company do?

Sarah Kollman is a Real Estate Lawyer who works at Young, Minney, & Corr law firm, which supports charter schools. Mera Baker Ramos is also a Real Estate Lawyer and an in-house counsel for Pacific Charter School Development (PCSD).

What did you learn today? What were some highlights?

Today I met with two Real Estate Lawyers and I learned some interesting things about their professions and how they are similar and different. Ms. Kollman, who works with YMC, has a different agenda and clientele than Ms. Ramos. Ms. Kollman is an external lawyer who has many clients; working as a Transactional Lawyer. However, in Ms. Ramos’s case, she only works for PCSD, as an in-house counsel.

What insights did you gain into the field of real estate development?

I gained an understanding of how being an in-house lawyer and an external lawyer work: how they manage their time and how they get paid. An external lawyer has it more difficult because their agenda has to be filled with work to get paid through billable hours , which complicates their daily life. Corporate lawyers have it easier compared to external lawyers as they don’t have to put in as much overtime.

What did you find the most interesting about the field after today?

I found it interesting that there could be lawyers for everything and anything, ranging from Art Lawyers to Court Lawyers.