SUNLEY RETURNS
As you may remember, Nick Sunley spent fall 2019 job shadowing at O’Shea through the Sangamon-Menard Schools’ Multi-Craft Core Curriculum program (MC3). But since we last saw Nick, a lot has happened. He graduated from Pleasant Plains High School with plans to attend SIUE and major in construction management, and then a little thing called COVID-19 happened. Outside of graduation and the Pandemic, Nick returned to O’Shea for a summer internship and was paired up with Senior Project Manager Mike Sunley again, which was a welcome surprise.
“I was excited to be working with Mike again. He’s a very hard-working guy and seems to know everything, so I’ve been lucky to learn from him,” Nick said.
Part of Nick’s learning has included helping Mike on his projects, including the Downtown YMCA in Springfield.
“Nick’s been great to have onsite and in the office. He helps check emails, write RFIs, review submittals, and other miscellaneous tasks for the Y. In addition, we have several visitors, donors, and other stakeholders who tour the site, and Nick has jumped into the role of ‘official’ tour guide and has done an excellent job,” Mike said.
Besides his project tasks, Nick also learned to read blueprint drawings, earned his OSHA 30 card, attended Civil, Estimating, and Operations meetings to continue to improve himself for the future, which has changed slightly for him.
“My plans have done a 180, and I decided not to attend SIUE. Instead, I enrolled in the Carpenters Apprenticeship Program. I changed my mind because of my experience during the internship. I saw all the opportunities available in the trades, and I really liked the work the carpenters do and decided that’s what I wanted to do as well,” he said.
As he continues on his journey, Nick hopes to return to O’Shea as a superintendent. “My career path is to finish the apprenticeship, eventually become a journeyman and then foreman, and finally a superintendent,” he said. And laughing, Nick said “Maybe, I’ll replace Superintendent Eric Knoles when he retires.”